Diabetic knowledge, self care activities and medication adherence of type 2 diabetic patients in Turkey

ABSTRACT Bader, H (2019). Diabetic Knowledge, Self-Care Activities and Medication Adherence of Type 2 Diabetic Patients in Turkey. Yeditepe University, Institute of Health Science, Department of Clinical Pharmacy, MSc thesis, Istanbul. The aim of this study is to determine the level of medication adherence and self-care activities of type 2 diabetic patients from (Istanbul) Turkey, and assess the effect of some demographic factors like educational level and age on them. 407 questionnaires had been administered as self-completion questionnaires in paper and pencil form, and had been distributed over 36 community pharmacies throughout Istanbul to interview type 2 diabetic patients who come to dispense their prescriptions in these pharmacies in the period between 01\Feb\2018 and 31\Aug\2018. After dividing the participant according to their age into three age groups (<40, 40-65 and >65 years), and according to their educational level into two educational groups (lower education and higher education) The Diabetes Self-Care Activities Measure scores has been calculated and the medication adherence level also have been calculated, and a retrospective analysis was performed to determine the relation between the self-care activities and medication adherence with patient`s age and educational level. The number of days of Self-care activities for diabetic patient was found to be increased significantly as the age decreased. And it also has been found that patients with higher educational level tend to be more adherent to self-care activities than those of lower educational level. The degree of non-adherence decreased significantly as educational level increased (P value <0.01), and increased significantly as age increased. Out of 407 participants only 33 patients were fully adherent to their medication, while the rest were classified as non-adherent to some degree. Key Words: Self-Care Activities, Medication Adherence, Educational level, Istanbul-Turkey.