Level of Adherence to Pharmacological Treatment in Diabetic Patients in a Rural Area

Abstract

Introduction: Adherence to pharmacological treatment constitutes a fundamental part in the therapeutics of diabetic patients and of relevant importance for the control of their disease.

Objective: To identify the level of adherence to pharmacological treatment of diabetic patients in the rural area of Chongoyape during the year 2022.

Methods: Descriptive, non-experimental, quantitative, cross-sectional study. The population consisted of 105 diabetic patients in the rural area of Chongoyape; the sample was a census and the data collection instrument was a questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first, with general data on sociodemographic characteristics, and the second that evaluated the level of pharmacological adherence using Morisky's medication adherence scale (MMAS-8) with a reliability of 0.83 by Cronbach's alpha, and validated by a significant Kappa coefficient of 0.82. A descriptive statistical analysis was performed.

Results: It was found that the majority of diabetic patients had a low level of adherence (79 %), especially men, older adults with basic education, widowed or divorced, and even more in those who had been prescribed more than two drugs, were unaware of the pharmacological action of oral hypoglycemic agents and, suffered from diabetes mellitus for more than 10 years or had two other diseases.

Conclusions: Low adherence to pharmacological treatment in rural diabetic patients can lead to a faster progression of their disease with earlier presentation of complications, so it is recommended to encourage family support and include telephone reminders and multidisciplinary educational guides so that those affected can better adhere to their pharmacological treatment.