Medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus treated at primary health clinics in Malaysia

Abstract

PurposeDiabetes mellitus is a growing global health problem that affects patients of all ages. Even though diabetes mellitus is recognized as a major chronic illness, adherence to antidiabetic medicines has often been found to be unsatisfactory. This study was conducted to assess adherence to medications and to identify factors that are associated with nonadherence in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients at Primary Health Clinics of the Ministry of Health in Malaysia.Materials and methodsThe cross-sectional survey was carried out among T2DM patients to assess adherence to medication in primary health clinics. Adherence was measured by using the Medication Compliance Questionnaire that consists of a total of seven questions. Other data, such as patient demographics, treatment, outcome, and comorbidities were also collected from patient medical records.ResultsA total of 557 patients were recruited in the study. Approximately 53% of patients in the study population were nonadherent. Logistic regression analysis was performed to predict the factors associated with nonadherence. Variables associated with nonadherence were age, odds ratio 0.967 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.948–0.986); medication knowledge, odds ratio 0.965 (95% CI: 0.946–0.984); and comorbidities, odds ratio 1.781 (95% CI: 1.064–2.981).ConclusionAdherence to medication in T2DM patients in the primary health clinics was found to be poor. This is a cause of concern, because nonadherence could lead to a worsening of disease. Improving medication knowledge by paying particular attention to different age groups and patients with comorbidities could help improve adherence.

Medication Adherence and Associated Factors Among Type II Diabetic Patients in East Azerbaijan, Iran

“…In our study, females were more likely to be adherent to their therapies than males, which is consistent with the previously reported study by Elsous, et al in Gaza (16). Contrary to other studies, the older patients in our study were poorer adherent to treatment than younger patients, but it was not statistically significant (19,21,22). In this case, our result is consistent with the study by Donnan et al (13).…”

“…However, Sontakke et al re-ported results similar to ours, and the high, moderate, and low adherence to treatments for type 2 diabetes among their participants was 0%, 26%, and 74%, respectively (10). The widely varying rates of medication adherence could be attributed to factors related to the study settings, socio-economic status, and metrics used for adherence assessment (14,16,19). Diabetic patients in our study reported several factors that hindered adherence to nonmedication recommendations for control of their disease.…”

Self-Care Practices among Diabetes Patients in Addis Ababa: A Qualitative Study

“…However, adherence to anti-diabetes medication was better of all self-care practices [17]. This could be due to either over reliance on medication or its free availability, or the ease to practice it compared to the other components which require more commitment [18].…”

Korelasi Diabetes Self Care, Score Pedis Dan Kontrol Glikemik Pada Diabetes Melitus

“…Penelitian yang dilakukan sebelumnya oleh menunjukkan bahwa semua perilaku perawatan diri yang tepat secara positif berkaitan dengan kontrol glikemik yang baik pada pasien diabetes (Luo & liu, 2015;Gao, et al, 2013). Akan tetapi pada penelitian Ahmad, Ramli, Islahudin, dan Paraidathathu (2013) dan Nunez-smith (2011) menyatakan bahwa tidak semua kegiatan dalam self-care terhadap pengelolaan diabetes memengaruhi kontrol glikemik yang baik pada pasien dengan diabetes (Ahmad, Ramli, Islahudin, & Paraidathathu, 2013;Nunez-smith, 2011).…”