Self-Reported Medication Adherence Among Older People Admitted to Hospital: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background Poor medication adherence is prevalent among older people. To optimize therapeutic outcomes, it is crucial to understand the underlying causes and perceptions. Objective We aimed to investigate the extent of self-reported medication adherence and associated factors among older people admitted to hospital. Methods Individuals living at home aged ≥ 75 years with an emergency admission at a university hospital between September 2018 and September 2021 were included. Participants answered the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5) questionnaire upon admission regarding their prescribed long-term medications. Participants with a MARS-5 score of 23-25 were defined as adherent and with a score of 5-22 as nonadherent. A multivariable logistic regression analysis was performed to investigate possible factors independently associated with self-reported medication adherence. Results A total of 261 individuals were included. The mean age was 84 years (standard deviation 5.7) and the mean MARS-5 score was 23.9 (standard deviation 1.8). Overall, 227 (87%) participants were classified as adherent to their prescribed treatment, while 34 (13%) participants were classified as nonadherent. Participants with cognitive impairment (odds ratio = 0.40, 95% confidence interval 0.18-0.90, p = 0.027) and depression (odds ratio = 0.29, 95% confidence interval 0.10-0.87, p = 0.028) had a lower odds of reporting adherence to their medications. Conclusions The majority of individuals aged ≥ 75 years who were recently hospitalized rated themselves as adherent to their prescribed medications according to MARS-5. Future studies would benefit from adding more possible explanatory factors and combining a self-reported assessment with a more objective measurement of medication adherence.

Effect of using a mobile drug management application on medication adherence and hospital readmission among elderly patients with polypharmacy: a randomized controlled trial

“…The personal factors related to drug non-adherence are divided to two categories of intentional non-adherence including self-drug discontinuance and unintentional non-adherence including problems such as forgetfulness, visual impairment, and inability to move, among which forgetting is a very important cause of poor medication adherence [ 8 ]. Poor medication adherence has been reported in 26–59% in older adults, depending on the population and methods used to assess drug adherence [ 9 ]. Also a study on 24,000 Iranian elderly patients showed that 62% of them forgot to take their medications [ 10 ].…”