Patients’ satisfaction with diabetes medications in one hospital, Saudi Arabia

Shiekha Al-Aujan,¹ Sinaa Al-Aqeel,¹ Abdulhaleem Al-Harbi,² Emad Al-Abdulatief<sup>2

1</sup>Clinical Pharmacy Department, College of Pharmacy, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; ²Department of Family Medicine, Security Forces Hospital, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Objectives: The main aim of this study was to evaluate diabetic patients’ satisfaction with their treatment. A secondary objective was to assess the relationship between treatment satisfaction scores and patient-related factors, if any.
Methods: This cross-sectional study collected data from patients at a primary care clinic of a government hospital located in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia. Patients were recruited if they were ≥18 years of age, had type 2 diabetes, currently taking oral hypoglycemic agents or insulin or both, and able to read and write in Arabic. Satisfaction was measured using the Diabetes Medication Satisfaction (DiabMedSat) questionnaire.
Results: One hundred and twenty-three patients completed the questionnaire. The participant mean age was 46 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.2 years; range 18–75 years), and mean duration of the disease was 7.8 years (SD = 6.9 years). Over half of respondents (63%) reported that they were satisfied and only 16% were unsatisfied. Approximately 54% of respondents are interested in changing their diabetes medications. The overall satisfaction score was 59.56 (SD = 15.9). Mean scores for the burden, efficacy, and symptoms domains were 59.81 (SD = 15.7), 58.1 (SD = 22.6), and 60.77 (SD = 22.1), respectively. Treatment factors (eg, type of medication; P < 0.02) and adherence factors (eg, difficulty taking medications; P < 0.032) were independently associated with lower treatment satisfaction.
Conclusion: Diabetes patients with difficulties in adherence to recommendations, as well as patients treated with insulin, require more attention in order to improve their treatment satisfaction.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, health status, patient satisfaction, primary health care, quality of health care