Barriers to Medication Adherence Among Women Living in Rural Areas Suffering from Hypertension: The Case of Dikgale-Communities

Abstract

Poor adherence to antihypertensive medications remains a significant challenge in the management of hypertension among women living in rural areas. The objective of the study was to assess the reasons of nonadherence in women suffering from hypertension. The researchers used a qualitative exploratory research design to conduct the study. A purposive sampling technique was used to select fifty (50) Black African women who participated in five ( 5) focus group interviews. The NVivo program was used to manage and organize the qualitative data. The study revealed that inadequate health literacy, financial constraints, forgetfulness and cultural differences are some of the barriers that prevent women from adhering to antihypertensive medication. Health promotion activities to empower women to become more proactive about their health needs and care should not be underestimated. As a result, they will be more likely to comply with their treatment, which will make them healthier in the long run.

Qualitative Study of Barriers to Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication among Rural Women in India

“…Healthy diet comprising fruits and vegetables was unaffordable. This is similar to a recent study in a low income country [21]. Smoking was present in only a few.…”

“…The present study, thus, highlights the importance of poor patient access, health education and empowerment, and financial support at patient level and greater use of low-cost generics and combination therapies by the physicians. A systemwide change in healthcare delivery in India [21] is needed to control the epidemic of hypertension related diseases in India and other low and lower-middle income countries.…”

“…Most of these factors have been well studied in developed countries. There have been limited studies that have qualitatively determined reasons for low hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in India [14–16] or other low and lower-middle income countries [17–21]. The health system factors that have been found important are rural residence and nonavailability of healthcare facilities.…”

Evaluation of antihypertensive adherence and its determinants at primary healthcare facilities in rural South Africa

“…There was no significant relationship between marital status and adherence, which is similar to a study conducted in Ghana and Nigeria [9]. The lack of any statistical significant association between claimed adherence and the period on treatment, reminder (help) to take their medication by either a family member or friend, as well as perceptions and beliefs about hypertension and its treatment, are different from studies previously conducted in South Africa [37,56] as well as wider [1]. The results also differ from studies conducted in Namibia and Nigeria, which reported that patients with good family support or social support from friends had better adherence than those without [30,57,58].…”

Association Between Medication Literacy and Medication Adherence Among Patients With Hypertension

“…Furthermore, psychosocial factors also influence medication adherence, such as depressed emotion, perceived severity of disease, self-rated health, perceived symptoms, and self-efficacy (Al-Noumani et al, 2018; Asgari et al, 2019). Knowledge of hypertension and patients’ literacy (Boima et al, 2015; Shirindi et al, 2016; Pan et al, 2017) were also found to be predictors of medication adherence. There have been interventions and measures pertinent to hypertensive patients’ adherence improvement, and certain interventions have been confirmed to be effective.…”