Association between Illness Perception and Medication Adherence in Patients with Diabetes mellitus type II in North Shoa, Zone: Cross-Sectional study

Abstract Background Although a good level of illness perception affects medication adherence, the impact of illness perception on medication adherence is still little known. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the relationship between illness perception and medication adherence in patients with diabetes mellitus type II in North Shoa, Zon Methods An institution-based cross-sectional study was conducted from 24 May to 25 June 2022 in the North Shoa zone. The study involved 552 diabetic patients who were chosen at random from four public hospitals. Data were entered into Epi Data V.3.1 and analyzed using SPSS version 22. Data for continuous variables were reported as means of standard deviations and percentages for categorical variables. Descriptive statistic was used to summarize study variables. Binary logistic regression models were used to assess associations between illness perception and medication adherence. In a bivariable analysis, variables with p-values less than 0.20 were put into a multivariable logistic regression model. A p-value ≤ 0.05 and an OR with a 95% CI are considered statistically significant associations. Results The result showed adherence to medication and illness perception was 64.4% (95%; CI: 60.1, 67.9) and 54.7% (95% CI: 41.2, 49.4), respectively. The study found that illness perception showed a significant relationship between illness perception and medication Adherence (p < 0.0001. In the adjusted model, illness dimension of consequence (AOR = 3.10, 95% CI: 2.11, 4.55), personal control (AOR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.20, 2.61), and emotional representation of diabetes (AOR = 2.26, 95% CI: 1.54, 3.32) were significantly related to medication Adherence of type II diabetic patients. Conclusion This recent study shows that illness perception has a significant relationship with medication adherence and can lead to significant changes in medication practice. When discussing diabetic self-management, diabetes care practitioners should take into account patients' illness beliefs using psycho-educational approaches