Non-adherence to medication and associated factors among type 2 diabetes patients at Clinique Medicale Fraternite, Rwanda: a cross-sectional study

BACKGROUND: Type 2 Diabetes Miletus (T2DM) is a public health burdens that alarmingly increases and leads to morbidity and mortality over the last decades globally. Its management is multifaceted and adherence to diabetic medications plays great roles in life of T2DM patients. But epidemiology on adherence and its associated factors remain unknown in Rwanda. Therefore, this study determined the extent of non-adherence and its predictors among T2DM patients seeking healthcare services at the Clinique Medicale la Fraternite. METHODS: A cross-sectional study among 200 adults’ patients with T2DM receiving care in the Medicale la Fraternite clinic was investigated. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models were performed based on odds ratio employed to examine associated predictors of non-adherence. The cut-off value for all statistical significances tests were considered at p < 0.05 with 95% for the confidence intervals. RESULTS: Overall, more than a half of T2DM patients (53.5%) had poor medication adherence. Being females [OR = 2.1, 95%CI(1.13–3.71), p = 0.002], consuming anti-diabetic drugs for 4–10 years [OR = 2.18, 95%CI(1.09–4.34), p = 0.027], experiencing poor communication with healthcare providers [OR = 2.4; 95%CI (1.36–4.25), p = 0.003] and being perceived as burden of the family [OR = 5.8; 95%CI(1.3–25.7), p < 0.021] had higher odds of non-adherence to anti-diabetic medications. Those with poor HbA1C [OR = 4.26; 95%CI(1.7–10.67), p = 0.002] had 4.26 times higher odds to be non-adherent compared to those with good HbA1C. Respondents with primary [OR = 3.56; 95%CI (1.12–11.28), p = 0.031] and secondary education [OR = 2.96; 95%CI (1.11–7.87), p = 0.03] were more likely to be non-adherent than those with informal education respectively. Those with normal BMI [OR = 5.17; 95%CI(1.63–16.37), p = 0.005] and those with overweight or obese [OR = 3.6; 95%CI (1.04–9.1), p < 0.02] had higher odds of being non-adherent than those with underweight. CONCLUSION: Sex, glycaemia, communication with healthcare providers, education and gycosylated hemoglobin were the major predictors of non-adherence. Interventions for tackling this problem through bringing together efforts to stem this epidemic and controlling predictors of non-adherence are urgently recommended.