Side effects and practices to improve management of type 2 diabetes mellitus from the viewpoint of patient experience and health care management. A narrative review. / Efectos secundarios y prácticas para mejorar la gestión de la diabetes tipo 2 desde el punto de vista de la vivencia del individuo y de la gestión de la atención sanitaria. Revisión narrativa.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: There is an alarming increase in the number of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. This increase is causing personal, family, social, economic, and political problems. The aim of this article is to review the side effects of treatments, the complications suffered by patients, and the practices to improve management of this disease from the viewpoint of the experience of patients and health care management. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A narrative review was conducted of studies on type 2 diabetes mellitus published in English and Spanish indexed in PubMed, Science Direct, Cinahl, MedLine, Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection, and Google academic. A total of 1,118 articles were found, 42 of which referred to the objectives of the review and met the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: The side effects and complications experienced by patients and their perception that they do not receive adequate information, together with poor satisfaction, lead to non-adherence to treatment, which impairs patient health and increases health care costs. The proposals in the reviewed studies guide the actions to improve treatment adherence and, thus, quality of life of patients, to decrease side effects and mortality and, therefore, the costs associated to type 2 diabetes mellitus through 1) quick and easy access to medical care, 2) quality health education, and 3) participation of patients in the decisions about their treatment and in self-management of their disease to make minimum changes in their lifestyles.