Knowledge about Disease, Medication Therapy, and Related Medication Adherence Levels among Patients with Hypertension

Abstract

Background and Objectives: A particular problem in cardiology is poor adherence to pharmacological treatment among patients with hypertension. It is known that approximately half of these patients do not use their medications as prescribed by their doctor. Patients may choose not to follow the doctor’s recommendations and regularly do not control their blood pressure, owing to many factors. A convenient method for measuring the level of adherence is the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale, which also provides insight into possible remedies for low adherence. We investigated their therapy, knowledge about the disease and its control, and demographic differences to assess the adherence of patients with hypertension. Materials and Methods: This was a cross-sectional observational study. Data were collected through a survey of 12 pharmacies in Latvia. The study involved 187 participants with hypertension. Results: The prevalence of non-adherence was 46.20% in Latvia. The oldest patients were the most adherent (p = 0.001, β = 0.27). The higher the self-rated extent from 0 to 10, to which the patient takes their antihypertensives exactly as instructed by their physician, the higher the level of adherence (p < 0.0001, β = 0.38), where at “0”, the patient does not follow physician instructions at all, and at “10”, the patient completely follows the physician’s instructions. Non-adherent patients tend to assess their medication-taking behavior more critically than adherent patients. The longer the patient is known to suffer from hypertension, the more adherent he or she is (p = 0.014, β = 0.19). Conclusions: Medication non-adherence among patients with hypertension is high in Latvia. Further investigations are needed to better understand the reasons for this and to establish interventions for improving patient outcomes.

<p>The Translation, Reliability and Validity of the Chinese Version of the Hill–Bone Compliance to High Blood Pressure Therapy Scale in Adults with Hypertension</p>

“…5,6 According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hypertension affects 1.13 billion people around the world (20% of women and 24% of men). 7 We estimated that between 2000 and 2010, the global age-standardized prevalence of hypertension in adults aged ≥20 years increased by 5.2%. The prevalence of hypertension is high and increasing, whereas awareness, treatment and control of hypertension are unacceptably low worldwide, particularly in low and middle-income countries.…”

Kardiyovasküler Hastalık Tanısıyla Yatarak Tedavi Gören Hastaların İlaç Tedavisine Uyumları ve Etkileyen Faktörlerin Değerlendirilmesi

“…Literatür incelendiğinde yaş ile ilaç uyumu arasındaki ilişkinin karmaşık olduğu görülmektedir. Literatürde yaşın ilerlemesiyle ilaç uyumunun arttığı, [13,19,20] genç yaşın düşük uyum ile ilişkili olduğu, [21][22][23] ve yaş ile ilaç uyumu arasında fark olmadığını bildiren araştırmalar yer almaktadır. [24][25][26] KVH'ı olan bireylerin mevcut hastalıklar ve risk faktörleri nedeniyle farklı gruplarda ve çok sayıda ilaç kullanımı yaş değişkeninden bağımsız olarak ilaç uyumunun düşük olmasına neden olmuş olabilir.…”

“…Literatürde çok sayıda ilaç kullanan hastaların ilaç uyumlarının düşük olduğunu bildiren araştırmalar [18,25,32] olmakla beraber, kullanılan ilaç sayısı ile ilaç uyumu arasında ilişkinin olmadığını bildiren araştırmalar dabulunmaktadır. [13,19] Bizim araştırmamızda kullanılan ilaç sayısı ve kullanım yılı ile ilaç tedavisine uyum puan ortalaması arasında istatistiksel fark çıkmamakla beraber hastaların yarısının ilaç uyum düzeyleri düşük çıkmıştır. Bu nedenle özellikle hastalara düzenli ilaç kullanmanın önemi, ilaç etkileri, yan etkileri ve ilaç etkileşimleri konusunda basit, anlaşılır eğitim verilmeli ve eğitim görsel ve yazılı materyallerle desteklenmelidir.…”

Perspective Chapter: Who Is Making Decisions? An Open Letter to Healthcare Professionals in the Developing World

“…The burden of chronic non-communicable diseases in Ghana is rising [4], and the importance of patients and their families understanding the disease they are suffering from, the treatment modalities available, and the objective of each modality is crucial to adherence to therapy [5][6][7]. However, in the course of caring for patients in the last few months to a year of life, the author has noted a generally poor level of knowledge among patients and families about the disease affecting them and the objective of therapy they have sometimes received for several months.…”