Abstract
Objective
This study aimed to develop the ARMS-C and test its psychometric properties in hypertensive patients, to assess the level of medication adherence and to identify associated predictors for medication adherence and blood-pressure control among Chinese hypertensive patients.
Methods
Hypertensive elderly who met inclusion criteria were recruited from an aged-care facility in Henan Province between January 2019 and July 2019. The patients completed the adapted ARMS-C. The scale’s factor structure, internal consistency, and construct validity were tested.
Results
Good internal consistency (Cronbach’s α=0.89) and test–retest reliability (r=0.86, p<0.01) were obtained. Item-total correlation coefficients for the ten-item ARMS-C were 0.505–0.801. Factor analysis of construct validity identified two factors, explaining a total variance of 63.3%. Binary regression showed that patients with scores at level 2 (≤20 ARMS-10 scores <30) were six times as likely to have blood pressure uncontrolled as those at level 1 (ARMS-10 scores <20, OR 6.6, 95% CI 1.7–25.1; p=0.006), and patients with scores at level 3 (ARMS-10 scores >30) were 115 times as likely to have blood pressure uncontrolled as those at level 1 (ARMS-10 scores <20,OR 115, 95% CI 9–1,470; p=0).
Conclusion
The ten-item ARMS-C is a reliable and valid self-reporting screening tool for adherence to medication and refills in elderly hypertensive Chinese patients.
Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the authors of the original ARMS questionnaire for their kind permission, and all the patients in this study.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.