Patient's barrier to initiate insulin therapy for type 2 D.M.

Abstract

Background: Diabetes Mellitus is a health challenging of the century, more than 300 million people lives with diabetes, and it is one of the biggest global health concerns, awing to its complications. Good glycemic control is the cornerstone to decrease risk of type 2 diabetes complications. Even though, many people still have poor glycemic control which can be partly attributed to late insulin initiation, that can be challenging and forced by numbers of barriers. Identification and analysis of these barriers is crucial to find out effective way to overcome them.

Aim: To assess patient's barriers to initiate insulin therapy among diabetic patients.

Method: A case series study was conducted during the period extending from July 2023 to June 2024, and a total of 360 participants with type two diabetes were included in this study from four Family Medicine Health Centers. Collected data tabulated and analyzed using Excel sheets and applying the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Version 24.

Results: 26% of the participants were 45-55 years age group, 40% has been diagnosed with diabetes for 5-10 years, and 66% have developed diabetic complications. Fear from hypoglycemia was the comments barrier to initiate insulin therapy and is seen in 84% of the participants.

Conclusion: Many barriers have been identified to influence the initiation of insulin therapy, fear from hypoglycemia was found to be the most influencing barrier. Increasing patient's awareness of symptoms of hypoglycemia, and always take their meal after insulin injection can help to overcome hypoglycemia.