Qatar University MSc graduate researches T1DM in adolescents

(MENAFN - The Peninsula) Doha: Qatar University College of Pharmacy (QU-CPH) MSc graduate, Sohayla Ibrahim, recently defended her MSc thesis entitled, ''Assessment of Adherence, Barriers, and Strengths to Adherence among Adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes in Qatar: Perspectives of Patients and their Caregivers.”  Adolescents with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) tend to have very poor glucose control due to many reasons, one of which is the decline in the extent of following physician’s recommendations noted with teenagers.  The MSc project was conducted at Sidra Medicine. It aimed to assess the level of adherence of adolescents with T1DM in Qatar and identify the barriers/facilitators of compliance from the patients’ perspectives and their caregivers. The public defence of the project was recently convened through WebEx with the attendance of many faculty members, an external examiner from the UK, and several graduate students.  The MSc project was supervised by QU-CPH Professor and Head of Clinical Pharmacy & Practice Department Dr. Ahmed Awaisu, QU-CPH Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy & Practice and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Dr. Maguy ElHajj, and Dr. QU-CPH Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy & Practice Yaw Owusu. The project is in collaboration with Sidra Medicine’s Dr. Maryam Khaja (Acting Manager — Clinical Pharmacy Services and Clinical Pharmacy Specialist), Dr. Amel Khalifa (Endocrinologist), and Dr. Dalia Ahmed (Clinical Pharmacist). The research study is the first to assess adolescents’ level of adherence and explore barriers and facilitators to adherence among this vulnerable population. Ibrahim and the team found that the level of compliance of adolescents with T1DM in Qatar was only around 40%, while the vast majority of the adolescents had uncontrolled diabetes.  The study further described many factors associated with adherence from the perspectives of adolescents and their caregivers, including patient-related factors, societal influence, medication, and device-related factors, healthcare system-related factors, and lifestyle, school, and environment-related factors.  Interestingly, the study had identified country-specific factors that were not previously reported in the published literature. These factors include extremely hot weather, cultural issues, wide use of food applications advertising unhealthy diet, high reliance on rice and wheat, and the outrageous cost of gyms and sports clubs, among the barriers to adherence.  The study concluded that factors associated with adherence require a lot of attention to optimise adherence among adolescents with T1DM, hence, achieve glycemic control and prevent short and long-term complications of diabetes.  ''Adolescent is a population that is globally understudied. However, it is identified as one of the populations of priority in the Qatar National Health Strategy 2018-2022. Additionally, T1DM incidence is generally high in Qatar, and it is increasing. Having poor glycemic control leads to many complications. Therefore, our study tried to assess one of the predictors of poor glycemic control, which is poor compliance,” Ibrahim said.   ''Our study confirmed that the level of adherence and glycemic control is suboptimal among this vulnerable population, and it helped in magnifying the need to draw attention to this population. This study has provided data that healthcare providers and policymakers can utilise to optimise adherence and improve health outcomes. I am honoured to have the chance to work with that population and to get such interesting findings.”  Ibrahim noted that her experience throughout the research was challenging. However, her scope of knowledge, skills, and experience as an early career researcher became much broader.  ''I was able to have two publications, and I have received two research grants from Qatar University. I am very grateful being a postgraduate student at the QU College of Pharmacy,” she added. Professor Ahmed Awaisu said, ''The paediatric and adolescent population is generally neglected in clinical research, and there is a paucity of published literature related to medication-taking behaviour in adolescents with diabetes. Furthermore, glycemic control largely depends on adherence (including medication-taking, dietary control, physical activity, and glucose monitoring).” ''These issues are understudied in adolescents, and most clinical decisions and practice guidelines are based on extrapolation of evidence from the adult population. It is highly warranted to increase clinical and socio-behavioural research geared towards promoting better health outcomes in this population.  ''This research team made a giant stride to investigate the level of adherence, glycemic control, and their relationship and issues surrounding adherence among adolescents with type 1 diabetes in Qatar from the perspective of the patients and their caregivers. We are proud to have Sohayla Ibrahim as a talented and committed MSc student on the project who made some important contributions to knowledge and science.”  Dr. Fatima Mraiche, Section of Head of Research and Graduate Studies at the College of Pharmacy-QU, highlighted that the research project was based on collaboration between Sidra and QU-CPH. She said such partnership is sure to contribute to enhanced pharmacy care in Qatar.   MENAFN15052021000063011010ID1102083466