Drug Compliance among Type 2 Diabetic patients in Jazan Region, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Although adherence to prescribed medications is a key dimension of healthcare quality, there is no information about the magnitude of compliance of the diabetic patients in Jazan region of Saudi Arabia. Objectives: The purpose of this study is to measure the rate of adherence and the factors contributing to compliance among the diabetic patients in Jazan region.Methods: A total of 273 Type 2 diabetic patients who fulfill the inclusion criteria were recruited in the study. Adherence to the treatment was evaluated during patients' attending to the usual appointment in the randomly selected Primary Health Care centers and Diabetic Centers in Jazan region. The medication adherence was assessed during a personal interview using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8).Results:Twenty Three Percent of patients reported good medication adherence, 38.8 % medium adherence and 37.6 % poor medication adherence. The factors significantly associated with adherence in univariate analysis were socio-demographic factors: residence (p = 0.02) and distance from the health care center (p = 0.023); disease and health care related factors: Regularly attending to the appointments (p= 0.038) and HbA1c >8 (p= 0.06).Conclusion: The findings indicate that there is a high rate of non-compliance among the diabetes patients in Jazan region of Saudi Arabia and there is a definite need for improvement in the healthcare system, health education, and training of diabetic patients. Copy Right, IJAR, 2017,. All rights reserved.