Abstract
BACKGROUND: Illness perception questionnaires for various medical conditions have become more useful in recent years. However, very few have addressed this issue for Type 2 diabetes in Saudi Arabia. METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to Type 2 diabetic patients attendees of primary health care centers and Al Kharj Military Industries Corporation Hospital in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia, from November 24th 2016 to April 24th, 2017. RESULTS: Overall, 383 of the 500 distributed questionnaires were returned, and 187 were males (48.8). Most participants understood that what led to diabetes was hereditary, including diet or eating habits. The Cronbach's alpha value for identity, timeline (cyclical), and emotional factors were relatively high, showing that these scales had a strong level of internal consistency; it also showed that the timeline (acute/chronic) and treatment control scales were low, thus showing internal consistency of these scales. Cronbach's value of coherence and consequences scales were low. CONCLUSION: Saudis with type 2 diabetes mellitus had appropriate knowledge of their disease. They agreed that diabetes was likely to be permanent and would have major consequences on their lives.