Comment on: “Effect of group hope therapy on self-efficacy of adolescents with type 1 diabetes”

Dear editor,

We are honored to read the high-level article by Nasim Nikbakhtan Esfahani et al.¹, entitled “Effect of group hope therapy on self-efficacy of adolescents with type 1 diabetes”. This study found that hope therapy had a significant impact on self-efficacy of adolescents with type 1 diabetes, but had no effect on academic self-efficacy and self-efficacy in blood glucose management. However, according to our opinion, there are some issues that are worth exploring.

First, general self-efficacy did not change glycemic control in diabetic patients. The duration of the disease is the only variable that affects glycemic control in diabetic individuals. A sample of 46 patients was randomly allocated to the intervention group or the control group. Different patients have different diseases, different blood sugar levels, and different treatments, and this study did not establish the standard drug treatment regimen. These factors may bias the self-efficacy of diabetes management.

Second, if the sample size is calculated haphazardly and the sample does not include a well-defined population, the results of the survey should not be extrapolated to the overall situation. How the authors assure that adolescent patients have never obtained the relevant section. In contrast, have sample size estimates been produced? Whether the inconsistency with previous research results is caused by the small sample size? All these concerns are not discussed in this study.

The authors did not explain whether the missing demographic descriptions are associated with the missing values in the tables. Finally, the criteria for the p-value specified in the table are also not discussed.

• Funding: none.

REFERENCES

• ¹
  Esfahani NN, Talakoub S, Jafari-Mianaei S, Mostofizadeh N. Effect of group hope therapy on self-efficacy of adolescents with type 1 diabetes. Rev Assoc Med Bras (1992). 2021;67(12):1816-20. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20210750
  » https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9282.20210750

Publication Dates

• Publication in this collection
  07 Oct 2022
• Date of issue
  Sept 2022

History

• Received
  21 Apr 2022
• Accepted
  17 June 2022