Treatment adherence and life quality of diabetic patients assisted in the primary care division

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: This study sought to evaluate the association between treatment adherence and life quality of diabetic patients assisted in Primary Health Care Units of four cities of Alagoas. METHODS: It was an observational study based on a quantitative approach of transversal investigation. Data came from diabetic patients who were helped out in Primary Health Care Units of the Health Public System of Alagoas/Brazil, from December 2009 to July 2010, in four cities of the state and through the application of socioeconomic and demographic questionnaires and the Morisky-Green and World Health Organization Quality of Life BREF (WHOQOL-BREF) tests. For the analysis, it was used the resources of the Epi Info program. RESULTS: The sample consisted of 711 diabetic patients, predominantly female (71%). The mean age was 61.1, the majority declared to be married, having an average of 4.5 live children. Most were of low education and did not perform any paid activity; 43.4% live with a Brazilian minimum wage or less. It was observed that 61.5% of the population studied was diagnosed with the disease for more than five years. The study showed a better life quality in the social domain of WHOQOL-BREF. According to the Morisky-Green test, there was a higher frequency of patients with an intermediate class of adherence. The study also showed a good adherence to the treatment and a satisfactory evaluation for the general life quality of the population and an association between these two factors. CONCLUSION: There was better correlation between adherence and the quality of life in the social...