Association of Social Support and Medication Adherence in Chinese Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Linni Gu, Shaomin Wu, Shuliang Zhao, Huixuan Zhou, Shengfa Zhang, Min Gao, Zhiyong Qu, Weijun Zhang and Donghua Tian
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Linni Gu: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Shaomin Wu: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Shuliang Zhao: School of Public administration, Shandong Technology and Business University, 191 Binhaizhong Road, Yantai 264000, China
Huixuan Zhou: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Shengfa Zhang: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Min Gao: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Zhiyong Qu: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Weijun Zhang: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China
Donghua Tian: China Institute of Health, School of Social Development and Public Policy, Beijing Normal University, 19 Xinjiekou Wai Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100875, China

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-10

Abstract: The prevalence of diabetes is steadily increasing in China. When diabetes is uncontrolled, it generates dire consequences for health and well-being. Numerous studies have shown that health outcomes were associated with social support and medication adherence. Previous study confirmed that social support was associated with medication adherence in patients with heart failure, HIV diseases, and first-episode psychosis. However, the relationship between social support and medication adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is remains unclear. This study aims to examine whether social support is associated with medication adherence in patients with T2DM. This study was conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of the General Hospital of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). In Beijing, a systematic random sample of 412 patients with T2DM over 18 years was recruited at baseline, and demographic characteristics, clinical data and their assessment of social support were collected from medical records and self-reported questionnaires. 330 of these patients completed a self-report measure of medication adherence at the sixth month after baseline data collection. Regression analysis showed that social support presented a positive effect on medication adherence, additionally, support utilization and the subscale of social support exhibited a significantly strong influence on medication adherence in patients with T2DM. Although medication adherence was influenced by multiple factors, this finding confirmed that social support must be recognized as a core element in interventions aimed at improving in the management of patients with T2DM.

Keywords: type 2 diabetes mellitus; social support; medication adherence (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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