Increasing Medical Adherence in Elderly With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review

One of the most common problems that the elderly with chronic diseases, especially diabetes, faces is lack or poor medical adherence. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of interventions in increasing medical adherence in the elderly with type 2 diabetes.

The databases of Cochrane, Embase, PubMed, Scopus, Science Direct, and web of science were searched until April 2017 free from time and language limitation. In review, only randomized controlled trial (RCT) design studies were investigated. The studies of interest were evaluated from three perspectives: educational intervention with or without theories/models of health education and promotion, educational intervention (individual or group education), and noneducational intervention to increase medical adherence. The qualification of RCTs was evaluated through Cochrane Collaboration Risk of Bias Tool.

Finally, five studies were considered in this systematic review. Educational interventions were used in all of the studies, and in three of these studies, noneducational interventions such as support group, psychiatric consultation, and phone consultation were implemented along with educational intervention. In all studies, medical adherence in the intervention group increased when compared with the control group or basic conditions ( p < .05). All RCTs had high risk of bias.

This review provides evidence which must be considered in the elderly with diabetes a combination of the educational and noneducational methods to increase medical adherence. It is necessary to conduct studies with higher quality to assess the efficacy of interventions.