Abstract
INTRODUCTION: The global prevalence of Diabetes Mellitus (DM) has increased alarmingly over the last two decades. On top of this, the issues of non-adherence to the prescribed medicines further fuel the DM- related complications to become one of the top causes of mortality and morbidity. Despite the considerable efforts in addressing the poor adherence issues, there are still plenty of problems ahead of us yet to be addressed. The objective of this study was to determine the extent of non-adherence and its contributing factors among diabetic patients attending the medical Referral clinic of Dilla University Referral Hospital. METHODS: The institutional-based descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among patients with diabetes mellitus attending the medical referral clinic of Dilla University Referral Hospital. A systematic random sampling method was used to recruit study participants, and tool was adopted to assess for adherence. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect information on factors influencing non-adherence to the diabetic medications, and in-depth interview questionnaire was used for key informant interviews for the qualitative part. Data analysis was carried out using SPSS-20. RESULTS: The overall prevalence of non-adherence to diabetic treatment regimen among the study participants was 34.0%. The study revealed that cost of transport to the hospital and taking alcohol were significantly associated with non-adherence to the diabetic treatment regimen with the (AOR = 6.252(13.56, 28.822); p < 0.000) and (AOR = 13.12(8.06, 44.73); p<0.002) respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The study revealed that significant numbers of participants were non-adherent to the Diabetes Mellitus treatment regimens. Intensive counseling, and health education on the importance of good adherence and negative consequences of poor adherence need to be discussed with the patients before starting the medications, and amidst follow up.