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. 2002 Jul;92(7):1120-4.
doi: 10.2105/ajph.92.7.1120.

Prescription noncompliance due to cost among adults with disabilities in the United States

Jae Kennedy  1 , Christopher Erb
Affiliations

Prescription noncompliance due to cost among adults with disabilities in the United States

Jae Kennedy et al. Am J Public Health. 2002 Jul.

Abstract

Objectives: This study estimated national prevalence rates of medication noncompliance due to cost and resulting health problems among adults with disabilities.

Methods: Analyses involved 25,805 respondents to the Disability Follow-Back Survey, a supplement to the 1994 and 1995 National Health Interview Surveys.

Results: Findings showed that about 1.3 million adults with disabilities did not take their medications as prescribed because of cost, and more than half reported health problems as a result. Severe disability, poor health, low income, lack of insurance, and a high number of prescriptions increased the odds of being noncompliant as a result of cost.

Conclusions: Prescription noncompliance due to cost is a serious problem for many adults with chronic disease or disability. Most would not be helped by any of the current proposals to expand Medicare drug coverage.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
—Number of disabled adults who had prescriptions and proportions noncompliant owing to cost, by age group.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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