The objective of this study was to determine the magnitude of nonadherence and its contributing factors among diabetic patients attending the diabetic clinic in Adama Hospital. Methods. This descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among patients with diabetes mellitus attending the diabetes mellitus clinic of Adama Referral Hospital. Every other patient was selected and data regarding their medication adherence was collected using a structured interview. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-16. Result. The response rate from this study was 98.3%. A total of 270 patients were interviewed; 51.5% were males. A total of 68.1% of the patients included in the study were married. 14% were younger than 40 years, and 50% were between 40 and 60 years. 21.8% of the participants ascribed their nonadherence to forgetting to take their medications. Patients with duration of diabetes ≤5 years (82.07%) were more compliant to their medication than those with >5 years (60.8%), which was found to be statistically significant (P = 0.003). Insulin, 47%, and glibenclamide plus metformin, 43.7%, were the most commonly prescribed mono- and combination therapies, respectively. Common comorbid conditions include hypertension, 148 (54.82%), and visual impairment, 89 (32.96%). The proportion of male patients adherent to their antidiabetic medications was found to be lower than 69.78% compared to the female patients (74.81%), but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Conclusion. Most diabetic patients are currently being managed with the most effective available drugs. However the result from this study indicates that the desired blood sugar level could not be controlled and maintained adequately. This was because of poor adherence to the prescribed drug regimen and poor knowledge and practice of successful self-management.

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