Perceived Family Support and Medication Adherence among Diabetic Patients with Good and Poor Glycaemic Control Attending a Teaching Hospital in South-Western Nigeria

Abstract

Aim: To compare perceived family support (PFS) and medication adherence among adult T2DM patients with good and poor glycaemic control. Methods: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional comparative study among patients with T2DM. The participants were systematically recruited and divided into two groups after glycated haemoglobin testing. Additional data was collected using a structured interviewer – administered questionnaire adapted from Perceived Social Support – Family Scale and 8-item Modified Morisky Adherence Scale. Results: The mean PFS scores among participants with good and poor glycaemic control were 16.37 and 13.97 points respectively. The difference between their mean scores was significant (P 0.000). The mean score of medication adherence among participants with good glycaemic control was 7.13 points while participants with poor glycaemic control had a mean score of 6.42 points. The difference between their mean scores was significant (P 0.012). A statistically significant association was found between medication adherence and glycaemic control (P 0.025). Conclusions: This study found that T2DM participants with stronger PFS and better medication adherence had better glycaemic control than participants with weaker PFS and poor medication adherence. It is therefore important to emphasise family support and measures that improve medication adherence in the holistic management of T2DM.