The Impact Of Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) On Quality Of Life In Diabetic Patients

Background. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent metabolic diseases and it includes disabling complications and chronic and invisible progression. On the one hand, this disease imposes high financial expenses on the patient and, on the other hand, reduces the quality of life. Presently, the COVID-19 epidemic has been an international concern, and evidence implies that people who have the underlying disease are at higher risk for the virus and will experience serious problems if they develop the disease.Methods. This research is a qualitative study with a kind of phenomenological investigation that has been conducted to investigate the patient's experiences and personal feelings with diabetes in terms of the effects of corona disease on their quality of life. In this study, the semi-structured interview method was utilized to collect information. The number of sample included 15 patients referred to health centers, and each interview was recorded with the patient's consent and was written on paper and analyzed.Results. The data of this study were classified into 6 main themes and 19 sub-themes after analysis. The main themes of the information obtained from this study included knowledge and awareness, psychological effects, entertainment, and recreational programs, patient's family, medical care, and communication with patients placing the greatest emphasis on medical care. Stress caused by corona disease and depression were the most important psychological effects expressed by diabetic patients. They also expressed some serious medical care problems, including the reduction of referrals to health centers for follow-up and care and the shortage of physicians and health personnel to provide services.Conclusion. This study suggests that diabetic patients experience many different problems due to corona disease. These problems influence the diabetic patients' quality of life, so we need to understand better and solve the diabetic patients' problems, make more effort, and perform more suitable planning to improve their health and quality of life.