ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE OF DIABETIC PATIENTS AT NISHTAR HOSPITAL MULTAN, PAKISTAN

Background: diabetes mellitus is a major metabolic disorder. the word compliance describes the extent to which the patient’s behavior matches with health care provider’s recommendations .the aim of this study is to determine the rate of compliance among diabetic patients at nishtar hospital, multan, pakistan to investigate the risk factors for non compliance and estimates the relevant association among different variables. material and methods: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted in different wards of nishtar hospital multan, pakistan including diabetic center and general medical wards during the period extending from the beginning of november 2011 to april 2012. simple random sampling was done to select 350 male and female patients with fixed drug therapy for the last 6 months. data was collected by a personal interview using structured open ended questionnaire in patient’s mother language & patient’s medical history record. results: the overall non compliance rate was 36%. compliance with diet was much better than compliance with medication and visits .the rate of non compliance with medications & with regular visits frequency was 37.5% & about 42.2% respectively. factors that showed significant association (p < 0.05) with non compliance were age groups, education levels, and duration of disease, dosage regimen, diet & follow-up visit frequency. conclusion: data indicates a high rate of non compliance among diabetic patients in nishtar hospital multan, pakistan & there is a need for improvement in our healthcare system