Norfidah Mohamad
UiTM Selangor, Malaysia
Title: The Role of Social Support Environment in Medication Adherence among Individuals with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus
Biography:
Norfidah Mohamad is a senior lecturer in Centre for Nursing Studies, UiTM Selangor, Malaysia. Her specialization is in Critical Care Nursing. Her research work and interest are in the area of Critical Care Nursing which focus in Intensive Care Nursing and Cardiology Nursing.
Abstract:
The National Health Morbidity Survey (NHMS) reported that the prevalence of Malaysian with diabetes mellitus (DM) is 11.6% and 14.6% for individuals age 18 and above and 30 and above respectively. Adherence to medications is an important aspect in patients’ management as many studies reported that non-adherence to medication could lead to hospitalization and higher mortality rates among this population. Thus, this study aimed to determine the prevalence of non-compliance of medication and to examine the association between medication adherences with social support among patients with Type 2 DM in Malaysia (n=173). A cross sectional study was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire which consists of three parts; socio-demographic data, the Morisky Scale to measure medication adherence and the Medical Outcome Study Modified Social Support Survey (MOS MSSS). Results showed that 2.4% of the total number of patients demonstrating a low level of compliance towards the medication. The most common types of social support received by patients was affectionate support which has been proved throughout previous studies to have effect on DM patients’ quality of life. Surprisingly, the lowest type of social support reported by the patients was emotional support. There was a significant positive correlation between medication adherence and social support (rho=0.154, p=0.043). Finding of this study was in agreement with previous studies that social support was the main determinant of compliance to medication. Among all the sources of social support, doctors (physician) were selected by patient as the main source of support followed by spouse, children and nurses. Findings from the present research contribute to the growing evidence on the role of social support environment towards medication adherence among individuals with Type 2 DM. Thus, future research regarding the development of interventions on importance of social support and medication adherence is suggested among this population.