Medication adherence and associated factors among hypertensive patients attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital Jaffna

Abstract

Introduction: Hypertension is a most challenging public health problem worldwide. Developing countries like Sri Lanka shows increased trend in prevalence of hypertension. Uncontrolled hypertension affects each system of the body. Medication adherence plays main role in control of blood pressure, prevent complications and get good clinical outcome. Associated factors with medication adherence should be identified to develop strategies for the optimum level of medication adherence. Objective: To assess the medication adherence and associated factors among hypertensive patients attending medical clinics at Teaching Hospital Jaffna. Methodology: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among the 224 hypertensive patients attended to the medical clinic, Teaching Hospital Jaffna during November 2022. A pretested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect data about socio-demographic factors and medication adherence whilst Data extraction sheet was used for identifying treatment related factors. Medication adherence was assessed with the help of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) and scores were categorized as good and poor adherence. Then association was found with selected factors by using Chi square test. Results: Two hundred and twenty-four participants were interviewed with the response rate of 100%. Majority of the participants (64.7%) were male. The mean age of the participants was 64.5 years (SD=9.6). Good adherence level was noted among 46.4% of the participants. The mean score of Medication adherence was 5.9 out of 8. Medication adherence had significant positive association with less frequency of alcohol drinking (p=0.020, ODD=1.491), hypertension under control (p=0.018, ODD=1.394) and monthly clinic visit (p=0.037, ODD 1.427). Conclusion: The study indicated that less than half of the participants had good level of adherence to antihypertensive medications. Forgetfulness is the predominant reason for poor adherence. It is recommended to have education programmes for participants by incorporating the associated factors.