Biomedicine

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Diabetes mellitus requires lifelong pharmacotherapy, yet drug utilization studies rarely capture how patients experience and manage prescribed medicines in daily life. This study aimed to examine drug utilization practices in outpatient diabetes care by integrating drug utilization data with patient perspectives. Materials and Methods: This study was conducted in a tertiary care teaching hospital in India using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods design, which consisted of a quantitative drug utilization study in the first phase followed by qualitative in-depth interviews in the second phase. Drug utilization data from 100 adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus were analyzed descriptively. Inferential associations were examined using chi-square tests. Findings informed purposive sampling for in-depth interviews with 25 patients to explain and expand quantitative findings. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically, and integration occurred at interpretation. Institutional ethics committee approval was obtained, and informed consent was secured from all participants. Results and Conclusion: Oral hypoglycemic agents (OHAs) alone were prescribed to 68% (n=68) of patients, while 32% (n=32) received OHAs with insulin. Polypharmacy (≥3 agents) was observed in 46% (n=46). Insulin use was significantly associated with longer duration of diabetes (p=0.002). Interviews revealed structured routines related to long-term medicine use, organizational strategies for multiple medications, layered self-care practices. Drug utilization in diabetes care reflects both prescribing patterns and patient adaptation. Integrating patient perspectives with drug utilization data provides a more comprehensive understanding of real-world medicine use.