Abstract
Background
The degree to which an individual follows medical advice is a major concern in every medical specialty. Non-adherence to psychiatric treatment regimens has a profound impact on the disease course, relapse, future recovery, cost of health care, and the outcome for the patient. The aim of this study was to assess medication adherence and its correlates among psychiatric patients at Ayder Referral Hospital, Northern Ethiopia.
Methods
A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to September 2013 at Ayder Referral Hospital, where 423 patients were selected by a systematic random sampling technique from all patients attending the psychiatric clinic at the hospital. Data were collected by trained data collectors through interview of the patients using a structured questionnaire. The collected data were entered into Epi Info version 7 and analyzed by Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 16 software. Logistic regression was used to assess independent predictors of adherence.
Results
A total of 387 patients completed the interview. Two hundred and sixteen (55.8%) and 113 (29.2%) were patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and mood disorder, respectively, while 35 (9%) and 23 (5.9%) had a diagnosis of drug addiction and autistic disorder. Two hundred and seven (71.6%) patients were found to be adherent to their medication. When adherence rates were observed according to type of disorder, 60 (53.1%), 24 (68.6%), 149 (69%), and 18 (78.3%) of patients with mood disorder, drug addiction, schizophrenia, and autism, respectively, were adherent to their medications. Female gender (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 2.34; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.45–3.74), tertiary education (AOR 2.69; 95% CI 1.46–4.85), living with family (AOR 2.57; 95% CI 1.66–4.58), and shorter treatment duration (AOR 1.82; 95% CI 1.21–2.84) were among the variables associated with better adherence.
Conclusion
Suboptimal adherence was observed among psychiatric patients in this study. Health professionals in the psychiatric clinic and pharmacists need to focus on and counsel patients about adherence and its implications for their clinical outcome.
Acknowledgments
We are very grateful to our study participants and the data collectors. We would also like to extend our thanks to the staff of the psychiatric clinic at Ayder Referral Hospital for their kind cooperation during collection of the data.
Author contributions
ZD, BL, GT, BD, TE, ZS, and MA all contributed to the study design. ZD and BL conducted the study, and were supervised in the field by GT and BD. BL wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors contributed to interpretation of the study findings. All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript prior to submission.
Disclosure
The authors report no competing interests in this work.