Adherence to Psychotropic Medications and Associated Factors in Primary Health Care

Abstract

The study aims were to analyze patients’ adherence to psychotropic medications and its association with sociodemographic factors, therapeutic regimen, presence of common mental disorders, and illness factors. A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out in ten Primary Health Care units in Brazil. The tools were the Measurement of Treatment Adherence Test and the Self Reporting Questionnaire. Nonadherence to psychotropic drugs was 88.9%. There was association between adherence and age and among patients positive for Common Mental Disorders (97.8%). In the multivariate analysis this association was not maintained. Findings indicate strategies are needed to improve medication adherence in the Primary Health Care services. However, no strategy will be effective if patients and their families are not involved in the process.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

We acknowledge the support of Jonas Bodini Alonso for helping with statistical data analysis. A. I. Miasso, P. C. P. Telles Filho, and A. C. Pereira-Junior contributed to the project design, development of research, data collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing, critical review of the relevant intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published. T. L. Borges and K. G. C. Vedana contributed to the development of research, writing, critical review of the relevant intellectual content, and final approval of the version to be published. R. O. Shasanmi made contributions to revisions of article for intellectual content and English language. F. R. E. Gimenes made substantial contributions to drafting of the article and revised the article for important intellectual content.

Declaration of Interest: The author reports no conflict of interest. The author alone is responsible for the content and writing of this paper.