Medication Adherence to Oral Hypoglycemic Agents in Type 2 Diabetic Patients

Main objective of this study was to determine the adherence of patients towards the use of OHA. This cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Kerala. Duration of the study was 6 months. The consent of the selected patients was collected in the Performa. Relevant data were extracted and recorded using appropriate data collection form. Interviews were conducted using structured questionnaire. Patient adherence calculated based on the scores of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Analysis of the results were done by using software SPSS, version 11.0. As per current study majority of the patients showed medium adherence towards OHA use. The study described significant relation between age and medication adherence of the patient. In this study females showed higher adherence than males. Marital status specified that married population showed high adherence comparing to unmarried group. Current study specifies no relation between place of residence and adherence. The study states that when education of the patient increases, medication adherence also increases. Study described that low income patients were less adherent to the prescribed therapy than high income patients. The patients with onset of diabetes at younger age were shown more adherences to treatment than aged group. The study does not found any significant correlation between number of drugs used and medication adherence. Adherence was very important in effective medical care. Pharmacists were in a unique position to improve medication adherence.