Ever since it has been established that insulin therapy is mandatory in the effective treatment of diabetes (American Diabetes Association (ADA, 2021)), several scholars have made their respective contributions to developing the body of knowledge pertaining to insulin treatment and its use in the management of diabetes. In reviewing extant literature, this research focus only on peer reviewed publications addressing insulin compliance among diabetes patients. To identify potential studies relevant for review, search was conducted on databases like GoogleScholar, PubMed, Embase, CINAHL, Medline, and PsycInfo and these keywords (Insulin compliance, insulin non adherence) were use to screen publications. To begin with the critical evaluation, this research reviewed associated qualitative studies due to the fact that these studies aimed at understanding and exploring the possible factors capable of influencing patient’s insulin compliance. The result from these kind of studies are naturalistics and subjective thus insightful and necessary (Nassaji, 2020). Starting with Matthew et al (2022) study “Which aspect of patient-provider relationship affects acceptance and adherence of insulin therapy in type 2 Diabetes? A qualitative study in primary care” which explored important aspects of patient-provider relationships capable of influencing insulin acceptance and adherence. Specifically, the study examined aspects of patient-provider interaction that influenced the patient’s initial acceptance of insulin; patient’s initial fears regarding the use of insulin; health care provider approach in assisting diabetes patient’s overcome their initial fears; patient’s struggles in ensuring adherence to insulin therapy; and the aspect of the patient-provider relationship that influence insulin adherence by the patient.
As stated earlier, the study is qualitative in nature and adopted the grounded theory to extract information directly from the involved parties. Matthew et al (2022) concluded that insulin compliance was a topic of concern when dealing with diabetic patients as half of the respondents acknowledged not fully adhering to insulin therapy. While accepting insulin therapy may not interest most patients, factors such as trust in the Doctor’s knowledge and prescriptions; communication skills; fear of being perceived wrongly by the health provider; patient centred decision making; and the positive impact of continuous care were identified as cogent reasons for acceptance. Patient’s skepticism for this treatment type stems from psychological fears, mostly the fear of needle and pain. However, patients were relieved of their fears by health care providers who simplifies the knowledge and skills associated with insulin therapy. Matthew et al, (2022) opined that patient’s compliance with insulin therapy is primarily a function of the pro activeness of the health workers in following up with their patients.
Contrary to Matthew et al (2022) methodological approach, He et al (2024) adopted a quantitative research design in their study “Factors Influencing Insulin Adherence among Outpatients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and the Impact of Pharmaceutical Intervention: A Randomized Clinical Trial“. Similarly, He et al’s (2024) study sought to identify factors that significantly influences diabetes patient’s long term adherence to their insulin medications just like Matthew et al (2022) although the former’s study participants were outpatients.
