Attached
Globally diabetes is a major public health problem. The prevalence of diabetes in Asian countries has been
increasing over the past few decades. Life style modification strategies such as diet control and regular exercise
are the major considerations of diabetes. When these strategies are unable to control glycemic levels,
pharmacological management need to be used. Insulin therapy is an important component of
pharmacological management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). However, there is limited data available on
factors affecting adherence to insulin therapy among patients with T2DM in Sri Lanka. Therefore the aim of this
study was to determine factors that affecting adherence to insulin therapy among patients with T2DM in a tertiary
care hospital, Sri Lanka. A descriptive cross sectional study was conducted among purposively selected patients
with T2DM(n=252). A pretested, interviewer administered questionnaire and eight item Morisky medication
adherence scale were used to collect data. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data. Ethical approval
was obtained from the Ethics Review Committees of Faculty of Medical Sciences, University of Sri
Jayawardenapura and Colombo South Teaching Hospital. Findings of this study revealed that majority of the
participants (70.6%) were diagnosed with T2DM for 2- 15 years. Most of the participants (85.7%) have been
taking insulin as their medication treatment for 1-5 years. The overall adherence rate was found to be 107(42.5%).
Among adherent participants 68(63.6%) were males and 39 (36.4%) were females. The majority of the participants
89 (83.2%) are aware of complications. Ninety one (85%) participants did not have financial problems to buy
medication. In addition, 89(83.2%) participants do not have stress or emotional problems, 35(32.7%) have not
physical disability or other chronic diseases, while 66(61.7%) do not think taken insulin at same time every
day as a challenge, 76(71%) take meals on time. Adherence to insulin therapy among participants was less due
to inadequate knowledge and awareness about the complications. Patients’ knowledge regarding diabetes
management could improve their medication adherence, therefore, health care providers should provide more
effective health education to maintain and enhance their adherence to insulin therapy.
