Drug therapy problems in patients with schizophrenia: A cross-sectional study

Abstract

Introduction Fifty percent of people living with schizophrenia do not receive proper treatments, and adherence level has been reported as low as 65%. Furthermore, the level of satisfaction has been reported to be very low in this population. Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate treatment satisfaction, adherence, and the prevalence of drug therapy problems (DTPs). Methods A hospital-based cross-sectional study was carried out on 118 patients with schizophrenia. DTPs, adherence, and treatment satisfaction were determined using the Cipolle, Morisky, Green, and Levine, and Treatment Satisfaction with Medicines Questionnaire tools. The data were then entered using Epi-Info™ version 7.2.1 and SPSS version 22 was used for analysis. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize patients’ characteristics. Univariate and bivariate logistic regressions, with a significance threshold of P < .05, were used to analyze the associations. Results DTPs were found in 52.5% ( P < .001) of the participants. The most often detected DTPs were ‘adverse drug reaction', (26.1%); ‘dose-too-low', (20.5%); and ‘ineffective-medicine therapy', (20.5%). Risperidone was the most prevalent medication (79, 47%) found in DTPs. DTPs were associated with age ≥ 65 years [AOR = .044, 95% CI (.003-.741); P < .030], drug-source [AOR = .774, 95% CI (.070-.826); P = .241], treatment duration [AOR = 5.820, 95% CI (1.451-23.342), P = .013], and the number of drugs taken [AOR = 5.936, 95% CI (1.623-21.71), P = .007]. Adherence status revealed that 69 (58.5%) of the participants were poorly adherent to their treatment. Overall, 68.8% of those who took part in the study were satisfied according to satisfaction ratings. Conclusions There is a high burden of DTPs in the study setting in the form of Adverse drug reactions, low dose schedules, and ineffective treatment associated with poor medication adherence; even though two-third of the participants were found to be satisfied with the clinical services given at the clinic.