Exploring medication adherence and its determinants among hypertensive, diabetic, and hyperlipidemic patients in the OPD of a tertiary care hospital

Gandhi, Kelina; Rathod, Twinkle; Rangwala, Jeet; Buddhadev, Mohit; Jamsa, Anas; Chakraborthy, Gunosindhu

Exploring medication adherence and its determinants among hypertensive, diabetic, and hyperlipidemic patients in the OPD of a tertiary care hospital

Authors

Abstract

Background
Medication adherence is a major concern in clinical outcomes, especially in developing countries. Despite the work of several studies, nonadherence remains a universal problem and still needs to be explored. The lifelong therapy for chronic illnesses itself becomes a barrier to medication adherence.
Objective
To assess the prevalence of medication adherence and its barriers and facilitators among patients suffering from four noncommunicable diseases (HTN, T2DM, hyperlipidemia, and COPD).
Materials and methods
A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in the outpatient department of a tertiary care hospital in Vadodara. A structured online survey questionnaire was framed with specific sections to capture information related to the patient’s adherence behaviorr. Before the sample collection, a questionnaire was pretested among 30 patients until saturation was obtained. A total of 400 individuals were recruited for the study after screening for the inclusion criteria.
Results and conclusion
Of the participants, 54.5% were males and 45.5% were females; out of the participants 41.75% had hypertension and 23.25% had diabetes mellitus. The participants with hyperlipidemia were too low to be statistically analyzed and hence they were the ones excluded. Overall, 60% of medication adherence and 40% of medication nonadherence were observed. A significant proportion of people were nonadherent, as a result of underlying factors that affected their adherence. This suggests the need for healthcare professionals and healthcare policymakers to work toward improving adherence rates among patients to achieve better clinical outcomes. If adherence rate is overlooked, the most effective treatment will also be a failure as adherence will remain a hindrance to the overall healthcare system.

Keywords