title: Study the Impact of Diabetes Camps on Adherence to Medication and Glycaemic Control in Uttarakhand.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Diabetes is a major public health problem which needs to be addressed with outmost planning in resource poor settings. Good glycaemic control and medication adherence patterns can play an important role in reducing disease related complications thereby reducing morbidity and mortality among diabetics. Disease specific camps can act as a stepping stone in providing limited care to the patients.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The study was planned to study the impact of diabetes camp on glycaemic control and adherence to antidiabetic medication among diabetic patients at a Government Teaching Hospital, Srinagar, Garhwal, Uttarakhand, India.
  
  
  METHODS
  A cross-sectional study using a medication adherence questionnaire collected from the patients participating in diabetic camps and measuring their HbA1C levels before and after the camps along with spreading awareness about the disease. Two diabetes awareness camps were organized, three month apart and the participants were imparted knowledge about the disease. A total of 50 patients with type 2 DM who had self reported history of diabetes and were on some form of oral anti diabetics confirmed by their prescriptions. The patients were called for monthly follow up in outpatient department. A six question preformed questionnaire - the Girerd's instrument was used to assess the level of adherence to the prescribed anti-diabetic drugs in 50 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, their HbA1C levels were estimated and the results were analysed using standard statistical methods.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 50 type 2 diabetic, 48 were studied comprising 23 (47.9%) women and 25 (52.1%) men with a mean age of 57.43 years. The average duration of diabetes among participants was 7.02 years. Poor medication adherence score was recorded in 27 participants and only 7 participants had good adherence to medication before the camp. After the camp, 19 participants had good adherence and 7 had poor medication adherence scores. As a result of improved adherence, improvement in glycaemic control was noticed by a decrease of 0.5 units in the mean HbA1C value by the end of the study.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results clearly showed that group intervention in the form of camp combined with monthly follow-ups could improve adherence as well as glycaemic control at a government teaching hospital in a resource poor setting. This could also involve and encourage society as well as young trainees to participate collectively in the care of diabetics.
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Medicine, VCSGGMS&RI , Srikot, Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India .
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pathania
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Pharmacology, Kannur Medical College , Anjarakandy, Kannur, Kerala, India .
authors.forename: Hemant Kumar
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Dutt
authors.affiliation: Professor, Department of Biochemistry, VCSGGMS&RI , Srikot, Srinagar, Uttrakhand, India .
authors.forename: Javin Bisnu
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Gogoi
authors.affiliation: Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Government Doon Medical college , Dehradun, Uttrakhand, India .
authors.forename: Vyas
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Rathaur
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Statistics, Department of Community Medicine, Lala Lajpat Rai Memorial Medical College and S.V.B.P. Hospital , Meerut, India .
authors.forename: Ganesh
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Singh
authors.affiliation: Assistant Professor, Department of Ophthalmology, VCSGGMS&RI , Srinagar, Uttarakhand, India .
authors.forename: Parul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Singh
keywords: Anthropometry; Compliance; Disease specific camps; Girerd scale; Knowledge