OBJECTIVES:

Patients with diabetes are required to take long-term treatments to treat their chronic disease and avoid complications. However lack of adherence is very common and represents major barriers to treatment efficiency. Measuring patient acceptance of their medication help understand and predict patients' medication-taking behavior. The objectives of this study are to evaluate the level of acceptance to medication in type 1 and type 2 diabetic patients (T1D/T2D) in real life; to identify issues and to define priorities for action.

METHODS: Observational, cross-sectional study conducted in Europe using Carenity Online Community. Adult diabetic patients were invited to complete an online questionnaire including a validated patient reported outcome measure: the 25-item ACCEptance by the Patients of their Treatment (ACCEPT©). It includes one general acceptance dimension (Acceptance/General) and five multi-item treatment-attribute specific dimensions (Acceptance/Medication Inconvenience, Acceptance/Long-term Treatment, Acceptance/Regimen Constraints, Acceptance/Side effects, Acceptance/Effectiveness) scored from 0-100 (lowest to highest acceptance). Patients were categorized according to their main treatment class: Oral Anti-Diabetic (OAD) versus Insulin.

RESULTS: CONCLUSIONS: Treatment acceptance is not satisfactory in diabetes. Diabetic patients treatment acceptance is primarily driven by perceived effectiveness. Long-term treatment is their major concern. These findings give indications about T1D and T2D patients’ priorities and unmet needs.