Abstract
Identifying barriers to medication adherence can support the development of targeted interventions designed to improve adherence. This study aimed to identify medication adherence barriers in patients with diabetes, the demographic and health-related factors associated with these barriers, and the relationship between these barriers and the level of medication adherence. This cross-sectional study was conducted among patients with diabetes mellitus receiving outpatient care at three provincial public hospitals in Vietnam between January and March 2026. Exploratory factor analysis identified a three-factor empirical structure of medication adherence barriers, labeled medication management barriers, psychosocial barriers, and motivational barriers. Motivational barriers had the strongest correlation with medication adherence (
r
= –0.270,
p
< 0.001). These findings highlight motivational and psychosocial barriers as potential targets for future adherence-improving interventions in diabetes care.