Medication Adherence and Predictors of Adherence with Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients in Ghana- A Systematic Review

Abstract

Background: The study reviewed peer reviewed published works on adherence to medication by Type-2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) patients in Ghana. Diabetes is a condition associated with hormonal disorders and is a chronic condition in nature. T2DM is the most occurring type of diabetes and is non-insulin dependent. Adherence to medication is very necessary to avoid complications such as nephropathy, neuropathy, retinopathy, cardiovascular complications, erectile dysfunction and diabetic foot. Objective: Adherence to medication is of great importance in treating diseases. It is therefore expedient that researchers make appreciable efforts into adherence. This systematic review determined the level of adherence to medication by T2DM patients and its associated factors. Method: PubMed Central, Gale OneFile: Health & Medicine and Google Scholar were searched to retrieve research works for the review. There were 1,448 participants from six research works with research specifically conducted in Ghana. An average participant population of 241 patients were reviewed. Results: The study revealed a low level of adherence to T2DM medication with an average adherence of 54.69%. There was however, a gradual increase in the level of adherence taking into consideration a period of ten years studies on diabetes medication. Education; [aOR = 3.68 (95%CI: 1.02–12.43)], Age; [aOR = 0.351 (95%CI: 0.178-0.775)] and Self- management practices; [aOR = 0.334(95%CI: 0.101-0.615)] were related to the study and were found to be positive predictors of T2DM medication adherence. Highly educated, older persons and patients with good attitudes in terms of self-care were found to be more adherent to medication. Conclusion: This review concludes that the level of adherence to T2DM in Ghana is low despite a gradual increase in the period of ten years. Also, Education is a major contributing factor to adherence. More education should therefore be resorted to as an effort to increase adherence to T2DM medication.