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. 2021 Jul 28;18(15):7958.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph18157958.

Sociodemographic Determinants of Nonadherence to Depression and Anxiety Medication among Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Sahar S Eshtehardi  1 , Ashley A Taylor  1 , Tzuan A Chen  1   2 , Marcel A de Dios  1   2 , Virmarie Correa-Fernández  1   2 , Darla E Kendzor  3 , Michael S Businelle  3 , Lorraine R Reitzel  1   2
Affiliations

Sociodemographic Determinants of Nonadherence to Depression and Anxiety Medication among Individuals Experiencing Homelessness

Sahar S Eshtehardi et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

Psychiatric medication nonadherence continues to be a leading cause of poor health outcomes for individuals experiencing homelessness. Identifying the sociodemographic factors that contribute to medication nonadherence may help guide strategies to care for and support this group. This study examined 200 adults with depression diagnoses and active anti-depressant prescriptions (Mage = 43.98 ± 12.08, 59.4% Caucasian, 58.5% male, 70% uninsured, 89.5% unemployed) and 181 adults with anxiety diagnoses and active anti-anxiety prescriptions (Mage = 43.45 ± 11.02, 54.4% Caucasian, 57.5% male, 66.3% uninsured, 88.9% unemployed) recruited from six homeless-serving agencies in Oklahoma City. Self-reported sociodemographic variables included: age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, monthly income, employment status, and health insurance status. Adjusted logistic regression analyses revealed that employed (OR = 4.022, CI0.95: 1.244-13.004) and insured (OR = 2.923, CI0.95: 1.225-6.973) participants had greater odds of depression medication nonadherence. For anxiety, being employed (OR = 3.573, CI0.95: 1.160-11.010) was associated with greater odds of anxiety medication nonadherence, whereas having depression and anxiety diagnostic comorbidity (OR = 0.333, CI0.95: 0.137-0.810) was associated with lower odds of anxiety medication nonadherence. Interventions aimed at facilitating accessible prescription acquisition or otherwise reducing barriers to prescription medications for employed adults, including those with health insurance, may benefit adherence, but more research is needed. Future studies would benefit from using a qualitative approach to better delineate nuanced barriers to psychiatric medication adherence.

Keywords: anxiety; depression; health disparities; homeless; medication adherence.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

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