Treatment adherence and associated factors in older people with type 2 diabetes: A qualitative study

Abstract

Patient Contribution: Older people with T2D participated in this study to achieve the objective of the study. Aim: Treatment adherence is an important indicator for evaluating successful diabetes control and overall disease management. It is necessary to identify the hidden themes of the concept of treatment adherence and related factors based on the experiences of older people with T2D. Therefore, the present study was conducted to identify the concept of treatment adherence and its associated factors in older people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). Design: The study was conducted as a qualitative study using a content analysis approach. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 older people with T2D, between May and September 2021. Data were organized using MAXQDA-10 software and analysed using the Elo and Kyngas qualitative content analysis method. We followed the COREQ Checklist to ensure rigour in our study. Results: Three themes emerged from the analysis of the data, including: ‘Health literacy’, ‘Support umbrella’ and ‘responsibility’.