ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INSULIN THERAPY ADHERENCE AND GLYCATED HAEMOGLOBIN (HbA1c) AMONG PATIENTS WITH TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS ATTENDING A COMMUNITY HEALTH CLINIC

Abstract

Insulin therapy is a recommended treatment for diabetes mellitus. Despite knowing insulin is one of the recommended treatments for glycemic control, adherence to insulin therapy still plays the main challenge in achieving good control of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). This study aims to determine adherence and compare HbA1c levels before and after six months of insulin therapy among type 2 diabetes patients (T2DM). This cross-sectional study was conducted among 300 participants with T2DM at Sungai Buloh community health clinic, Selangor. A self-administered questionnaire Morisky Insulin Adherence Scale (MIAS), was used to measure the study adherence variable. Data were analysed using a statistical package for the social science (SPSS) version 23. 11 (3.7%) of respondents had good adherence,109 (36.3%) had moderate adherence, and 180 (60%) were poor adherence. The mean HbA1C at baseline is 9.654 mmol/L and reduced to 9.194 mmol/L after six months of insulin therapy. Education shows an association towards adherence level with p-value = 0.004 and significantly found an association between HbA1c and insulin adherence with p < 0.05. The study found that most respondents have poor adherence to insulin therapy. Therefore, essential to highlight adherence issued to achieve good glycaemic control.