Patients' characteristics and their adherence to insulin therapy

Background The prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DMT2) in Indonesia increased significantly from 6.9% (2013) to 8.5% (2018), putting Indonesia in top six countries in the world with maximum DMT2 patients. Patients with uncontrolled DMT2 are at risk for complications. As such, insulin is often administered to keep the levels under control. Unfortunately, poor adherence to insulin therapy is common, reflecting some factors that may affect the therapy. The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the characteristics of patients contributing to adherence to insulin therapy among DMT2 outpatients using the Health Belief Model (HBM) approach. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on a sample of 84 DMT2 outpatients in a private hospital in Surabaya between April and May 2019. Respondents were selected using the accidental sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive analysis and chi-square. Results The level of respondents' adherence was high (73.8%). There was no significant relationship between sex, age, level of education, occupation, and duration of use and patient adherence. Using the HBM approach, this study showed a significant relationship between the five components of HBM (perceived susceptibility, perceived severity, perceived benefit, perceived barrier and perceived self-efficacy) and patient adherence. Conclusions Patient adherence was influenced primarily by patient belief to the therapy of insulin. The characteristics of patients had no effect on adherence, yet further research is recommended to examine such adherence to a different population.