INTRODUCTION Cardiovascular disease has been leading cause of early disability and worldwide, and hypertension is the most important preventable risk factor for the development of cardiovascular disease Oliveira-Filho et al., 2014; Irazola Adherence to blood pressure lowering agents has been shown to be the cornerstone for achieving hypertension control, h developing countries, the effective treatment of blood pressure among people taking antihypertensive medication, wa average, particularly due to ABSTRACT Adherence to antihypertensive medication is the cornerstone for achieving hypertension control. Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS reported medication adherence measures. The aim of this study was to examine the evidence of the validity of adapted Hausa MMAS hypertensive patients in North individuals with hypertension, self treatment was measured using the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale consistency of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale factorial validity was assessed by identifying the underlying components using principal component analyses (PCA). A total of 130 individuals completed the study. Cronbach's alpha was 0.79. Two components were identified. One component comprised medication when hypertension is under control, stopping when feeling hassled abou to the prescription. The second component comprised two other items that were all related to forgetfulness. A significant relationship between MMAS and control (t = 2.2; p = .030), (χ specificity, with positive and negative predictive values were respectively. The results suggest that the adapted Hausa Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 is a two-dimensional scale assessing intentional (first co (second component) non-adherence to the antihypertensive drug treatment. The findings of this validation study indicate that the Hausa version of the MMAS is a reliable and valid measure of medication adherence among hypertensive

Sachet water is a form of packaged water commonly sold in West Africa [1]. It refers to water of approximately 500 ml volume that is purified, packaged and sold for drinking in heat-sealed plastic sleeves ('sachets'). Nationally representative surveys show that up to 18% of urban households in Nigeria depend on sachet water for drinking, cooking and other domestic uses with only a small fraction utilising bottled water products [2]. The year-on-year increase in sachet water consumption observed in West Africa is driven in part by consumer purchasing behaviour, relative affordability, inadequate water supply infrastructure due to increasing urbanisation and limited access to safe and sustainable

Objectives Studies show that clinical pharmacy services are effective in optimizing medicines use and patients' outcomes. This study aimed to determine the clinical pharmacy services provided in public sector hospitals in Nigeria. Methods This was an online survey of 296 primary, secondary and tertiary care hospitals sampled purposively across the 36 States and Federal Capital Territory in Nigeria. Data analysis was conducted descriptively via χ 2 test and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Key findings Responses were obtained from 272 hospitals in the country with a survey completion rate of 88%. This included 55 tertiary, 72 secondary and 145 primary healthcare centres (PHCs). Pharmacists provided pharmaceutical care services in all the tertiary care hospitals, 94% of the secondary and in only 6% of the PHCs surveyed. Most of the secondary and tertiary care hospitals provided medicines information, patient education and counselling, and in-patient dispensing services [n = 97 (79%), 116 (94%), 88 (72%)], respectively. However, fewer than a third reported involvement in multidisciplinary ward rounds, medication chart review and antibiotic stewardship programmes [n = 18 (15%), 33 (27%), 22 (18%), respectively]. Furthermore, medication error reporting and pharmacovigilance services were each routinely provided in only about half of the secondary and tertiary care hospitals [n = 62 (50%)], and this was not associated with the level of care (P > 0.05). Conclusions The findings of this study demonstrate disparity in clinical pharmacy service availability across the various levels of care in Nigeria and emphasize the need to prioritize their integration within the primary care sector.

Background Medication counselling is an important activity that improves patient therapeutic outcomes. After this activity has been carried out, patients should be satisfied with counselling, and possess adequate knowledge about their medications. Objectives To describe outpatient/caregiver medication knowledge and satisfaction with medication counselling at the main outpatient pharmacies of eight public secondary and tertiary hospitals located in two states in Northwestern Nigeria. Methods Exit interviews were conducted from December 2019 to March 2020 with randomly sampled patients/caregivers who had just been dispensed one or more prescription medications from the main pharmacies of the hospitals. The questionnaire used contained 31 questions in three sections. The first section collected demographic information. The second section assessed respondents’ experiences and overall satisfaction with the counselling they had received. The last section evaluated respondents’ knowledge of one randomly selected prescription medication that had been dispensed to them. Data collected were coded and analyzed to generate descriptive statistics. To explore associations between respondent characteristics and overall satisfaction, non-parametric tests were used, and statistical significance set at p<0.05. Results A total of 684 patients/caregivers were interviewed. Majority of respondents agreed that the time spent (97.1%) and quantity of information (99.1%) provided during counselling was adequate. However, over 60% of them also agreed that dispensers did not assess their understanding of information provided or invite them to ask questions. Despite this, their average overall satisfaction with counselling on a 10-point scale was 8.6 ± 1.6. Over 90% of them also correctly identified the routes and frequency of administration of the prescribed medication selected for the knowledge assessment. Although, more than 60% of respondents did not know the duration of therapy or names of these medications. Conclusion Respondents’ satisfaction with medication counselling was fairly high even though they did not seem to know much about their medication.

Poor adherence to medication is a major public health concern, especially in patients with hypertension because it is sometimes difficult to convince them to take medication in the absence of symptoms. The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between patients' beliefs about their antihypertensive drugs and adherence to treatment. The study was a cross-sectional study on hypertensive patients in General Hospital Katsina State. The data were collected using patient administered questionnaires. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 20.0.The study recorded a total of 127 hypertensive patients, majority of whom were females (58%) and mostly above 40 years (76%). Significant number of the respondents (98%) agreed their antihypertensives were effective in protecting them from the effects of high blood pressure. All adherent patients (100%) were strongly concerned about possible future effects of their medication, suggesting a high counterbalancing effect of this belief on their adherence. Majority (77%) believed they were receiving the necessary advice about their medicines from the pharmacist. Overall adherence to treatment was excellent (80%). A statistically significant relationship (p<.05) was established between patient's beliefs and adherence. In conclusion, the study revealed that adherence to antihypertensive medication is attributed to patients' beliefs and the role of pharmacists cannot be overemphasized.