Patients' Adherence to Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Treatment Recommendations

Abstract

Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a chronic metabolic disorder that has existed for centuries and the most common form of diabetes in adults. Its management encompasses dietary modification, exercise, accident prevention and medications (oral hypoglycemic agents and insulin). Due to the chronic nature of T2DM, adherence to treatment recommendations remain a challenge for many patients. This study aimed at assessing the adherence of patients with T2DM to treatment recommendations in some selected Peri-urban Hospitals in the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana. The study deployed the positivist paradigm and descriptive research design. Stratified sampling technique was employed to randomly select 200 diabetic patients for the study. Questionnaire was the main instrument used in gathering primary data. SPSS version 23 was used to analyze the field data. The study revealed a statistically significant (p-value < 0.05) association between: participants' age and adherence to exercise; participants' age and adherence to accidents prevention measures; participants' education and adherence to dietary restrictions. However, adherence to medications had no statistically significant relationship with participants' socio-demographic variables. The study concluded that, although, knowledge on type-2 DM medication is high, adherence to treatment recommendations still pose a challenge for many patients. Of particular interest to this study is that respondents' age alone significantly controls exercise and risk prevention. Hence a massive public health education across all age groups is required in addition to policy support.