Factors Associated with Medication Adherence among hypertensive Patients in a Tertiary Health Center: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Introduction: Medication non-adherence is a major hindrance in the treatment of hypertension in Sub Saharan Africa. It is a major modifi able contributor to poor blood pressure control and complications of the disorder. An understanding of the factors that are associated with drug adherence in hypertension will contribute positively to the overall planning of public health educational programs on hypertension. Methods: This study was cross sectional and descriptive in nature conducted in the medical outpatient clinic of Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Enugu Nigeria. Data collection was done using a semi-structured questionnaire. The Morinsky-Green Medication adherence scale was used to estimate medication adherence. Statistical analyses was done using SPSS version 22 (IBM Corporation, New York, USA). Results: A total of 436 patients were surveyed in this study. Most of the patients (90.1%) sometimes forget to take their medications or do not bring their medications along when they leave home (94.3%). The highest rates of non-adherence were reported in patients who were totally dependent (62.5%). High depression scores, low disability scores and the presence of peptic ulcer disease correlated with nonadherence. In regression analysis Morinsky-Green scores (R 2 = 0.04), decreased by a factor of 0.06 with a unit increase in level of dependence, by a factor of 0.09 with a unit increase in HADS depression scores and by 0.73 in those that have peptic ulcer. Conclusions: Non-adherence is high among hypertensive patients attending tertiary care centers in the South East. Educational measures targeted towards improving adherence are needed to reduce the level of non-adherence.

Non‐adherence to pharmacotherapy and its associated factors among patients with angina in Jordan

“…In the current study, more than three quarters of the study patients were categorized as non‐adherent, which represents a real threat for health outcomes in patients with angina in Jordan. The current study finding is consistent with the previous research in the Arab world and the Western countries which indicated that patients with CVD poorly adhere to their prescribed medications . In general, medication adherence rate in patients with CVD has varied widely across different studies.…”

“…The current study finding is consistent with the previous research in the Arab world and the Western countries which indicated that patients with CVD poorly adhere to their prescribed medications. [12,[22][23][24][25] In general, medication adherence rate in patients with CVD has varied widely across different studies. While only 24% of the patients were found to be adherent in one study, [26] another study showed that 69.2% were adherent to their medications.…”

Glycemic Control among Medical Outpatients in Enugu: A Cross Sectional Survey

“…Data was obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire designed by one of the authors (E_ABA) after reviewing similar studies [6] [9] [11] [15] [16]. The full methodology of the study has been reported elsewhere (see appendix) [20]. Data on selected sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle behaviors including smoking, drinking and use of herbal/traditional medicine.…”

“…Poor glycemic control has been related to factors such as modality of treatment, age, gender, access to care, diet, obesity, systolic blood pressure, physical activity and level of knowledge of patients and their care givers [5] [6] [12] [14] [15] [17]. In many Nigerian communities, there is a high rate of herbal-medication use as well as poor knowledge attitude and practice of diabetes [4] [5] [6] [20].…”

Nonadherence to Drugs among the Hypertensive Patients in Outpatient Department of a Secondary Hospital of Bangladesh

“…37,38 In Nigeria, most of the patients (90.1%) sometimes forget to take their medications or do not bring their medications along when they leave home (94.3%). 39 Running out of drug is the second most important cause of nonadherence in our study population. Most of these antihypertensive drugs are expensive, and if patients from low socioeconomic condition fail to collect it free of cost from the hospital.…”