Evaluation of Medication Adherence Levels of Hypertension Patients in an Educational Family Health Center

Abstract

Objectives: Non-adherence to medical and non-medical treatment is the main reason for uncontrolled hypertension (HT) worldwide. It was aimed to evaluate the medication adherence levels of patients with HT in this study. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, patients with HT who applied to an educational family health center from August 2018 to November 2018 and received HT treatment for at least 6 months were included in the study. The form consisted of questions about sociodemographic characteristics, medical information, and life-style habits. Morisky, Green, and Levine’s Adherence Scale (MGL) was used to determine patients’ adherence to pharmacotherapy. Results: A total of 186 patients were included in the study. According to the MGL scale, 26 (14.0%) of the participants were found to be non-adherent to their medication. According to blood pressure measurement results, 89 (47.8%) patients had uncontrolled HT. When sociodemographic characteristics and medication compliance were evaluated, 14 (8.8%) of university and above, 30 (18.8%) were in high school, 21 (13.0%) in secondary school, 64 (40.0%) were in primary school, 14 (8.8%) of literate, and 17 (10.6%) of illiterate patients were found to be adherent to drug therapy (p=0.035). While 87 (54.4%) of the patients whose blood pressure was normotensive were adherent to drug therapy, 73 (45.6%) of the patients who had uncontrolled HT were adherent to drug therapy (p=0.132). Conclusion: It was observed that high education level was effective in increasing adherence to drug therapy. Interestingly, there was no significant difference between medication adherence and providing blood pressure control in patients.