Predictors of adherence to antihypertensive medication Among hypertensive adults in jimma university specialized Hospital, jimma zone, southwest ethiopia, 2016 : case control Study

Abstract

Background: Hypertension is an important public health challenge worldwide and defined as systolic blood pressure (SBP) greater than or equal to 140 mm Hg and a diastolic blood pressure (DBP) greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg. Uncontrolled hypertension can occur due to nonadherence to medication or dietary regimen. Different factors contribute to the non-adherence behavior of the patients. The aim of this study was to identify predictors of adherence to antihypertensive medication among hypertensive adults on follow up in Jimma University Specialized Hospital, South West Ethiopia, 2016 Methods: Institution based case control study was conducted in JUSH on 488 hypertensive adults from March- April, 2016. Cases and controls were selected by the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS). Cases were those patients who score MMAS 80% and above and controls were those patients who score MMAS less than 80%. Consecutive sampling method was used to select the participants. A structured and pretested questionnaire was used. Data was entered into Epidata version 3.1 then exported to Stata version 13 for analysis. Frequency distributions table was used to summarize the data. Multivariable logistic regression analysis was used to identify predictors, of adherence to anti-hypertensive medication. Results: The number of cases and controls who participated in the study was 232 and 220 with response rate of 95% and 90% respectively. Fifty percent (50.0%) of the cases and 28.6% of the controls were adherent to life style modification. Factors significantly associated with adherence were educational status primary (AOR=3.9, 95% CI: 2.2-6.8), secondary (AOR= 5.9, 95% CI: 2.2- 16.3), higher (AOR=8.4, 95% CI: 2.8-25.6) and knowledge about hypertension treatment (AOR= 5.0 95% CI: 2.7-9.1). Conclusion and recommendation: In this study predictors of adherence to antihypertensive medication were educational status and knowledge about hypertension treatment. Therefore health care providers should advise the patients on the importance of complying with hypertensive medications, the consequences of non-compliance with treatment and the disadvantage of skipping the dose.