Medication Adherence and Its Association with Health Literacy and Performance in Activities of Daily Livings among Elderly Hypertensive Patients in Islamabad, Pakistan

Abstract

Background and Objective: Medication non-adherence is a preventable reason for treatment failure, poor blood pressure control among hypertensive patients and the geriatric population owing to poor physical activity is more vulnerable strata. The objective of this study is to investigate medication adherence and its associated factors among Pakistani geriatric hypertensive patients. Methods: A cross-sectional survey-based study was conducted at the out-patient department of the cardiac center from May 2018 to August 2018. A universal sampling technique was used to approach patients and 262 eligible consented patients were interviewed to collect information about socio-demographics, health, and disease-related characteristics using a structured questionnaire. The Morisky Levine Green test was used for the assessment of medication adherence. The Barthel index and single item literacy screener (SILS) was used to measure performance in activities of daily living and health literacy respectively. Chi-square tests and multivariate binary logistic regression analysis were performed to find factors by using SPSS version 20. Results: Of the total 262 participants, about 38.9% (n = 102) were scored 4 and considered adherent while 61.1% (n = 160) were considered as non-adherent. In logistic regression analysis, self-reported moderate (OR = 3.538, p = 0.009) and good subjective health (OR = 4.249, p = 0.008), adequate health literacy (OR = 3.369, p < 0.001) and independence in performing activities of daily living (OR = 2.968, p = 0.002) were found to be independent predictors of medication adherence among older hypertensive patients. Conclusion: Medication adherence among the older hypertensive population in Pakistan is alarmingly low. This clearly requires patient-centered interventions to overcome barriers and educating them about the importance of adherence.

Keywords: adherence; elderly; health literacy; hypertension.