Abstract:
Medication adherence is an important predictor of optimal blood pressure
control; hence, it significantly reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and associated
deaths. However, studies on medication adherence and its associated factors are scarce. Thus,
this study aimed to assess adherence to antihypertensive medications and identify associated
factors at Debre Tabor General Hospital, northwest Ethiopia.
Methods:A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted. Simple random sampling
technique was used to select 346 participants. A structured questionnaire adapted from the
World Health Organization (WHO) STEPwise approach was used to collect data. Medication
adherence was measured by the four-item Morisky–Green–Levine Scale, with a score ≥3 defined
as “good adherence”. Data were entered using Epi Info version 7 and exported to SPSS version 20 for analysis. Descriptive and summary statistics were used. Bivariate and multivariable
analyses were also carried out.
Results:A total of 337 hypertensive patients participated in the study. Three-quarters (75.1%)
of the participants were found to be adherent to their medication therapy. The multivariable
logistic regression analysis showed that urban residence (adjusted odd ratio [AOR]=2.10, 95%
confidence interval [CI]: 1.15, 3.85), taking less than two drugs per day (AOR=3.04, 95% CI:
1.53, 6.06), and having knowledge about hypertension (HTN) and its treatment (AOR=8.86,
95% CI: 4.67, 16.82) were positively and significantly associated with medication adherence,
while age >60 years (AOR=0.33, 95% CI: 0.11, 0.98) was negatively and significantly associated with good medication adherence.
Conclusion:A significant proportion of hypertensive patients poorly adhere to antihypertensive medications. Age, residence, pill burden, and knowledge about HTN and its treatment
are important predictors of medication adherence. Attention should be given to increase the
knowledge of patients about their disease and its treatment, and due emphasis should also be
given to older and rural patients
