A study on adherence to dietary guidelines, treatment and preventive care among diabetic patients

Back ground: It is human tendency to obey doctor’s advice to get relief from suffering, however once the symptoms subside they don’t follow instructions. In case of chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, cerebrovascular disease the treatment is lifelong and for a quality life the patients suffering with chronic problem should adhere to the treatment guidelines in strict compliance. Unless patient understands the importance of adherence to treatment guidelines it is very difficult to prevent various complications due to diabetes. Objectives: To find out factors responsible for non adherence to treatment and dietary guidelines among type 2 diabetes patients. Materials and methods: 200 known diabetic patients attending diabetic clinic in a teaching hospital were subjected to a pre tested questionnaire and information was collected by interviewing the patients. Results: A total of 200 (101 male and 99 female) patients were studied and assessment of adherence to dietary guidelines and treatment regimen in terms of demographic, anthropometric, nutrition survey, treatment and preventive and personal care was done. Adherence to dietary and treatment guidelines was significantly high in literate group to that of illiterate group, with ‘p’ value < 0.0005. Strong family history in male sex with chi square value after Yates correction 19.49 and ‘p’ value was <0.00001. Conclusion: Compliance or adherence problems are common in diabetes management. Many factors are potentially related to these problems, including demographic, psychological, social, health care provider and medical system, and disease- and treatment-related factors. Literacy is showing a positive impact as higher the literacy, higher is the adherence for treatment guidelines.