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Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication: An Interview Analysis of Southwest Ugandan Patients’ Perspectives

ABSTRACT: Background: Hypertension is a significant cardiovascular disease (CVD) and driver to CVD disorders in sub-Saharan Africa. It is a major independent risk factor for heart failure, stroke, and kidney failure. Persons living with hypertension attend to many aspects of self-care to manage their condition, including high blood pressure medication adherence to control of blood pressure. Rates of medication non-adherence, and thus uncontrolled hypertension, remain high and contribute to poor health outcomes. Understanding barriers and facilitators to adherence to hypertension therapies can help improve health outcomes. Objective: The aim of the study was to describe the common reasons for adherence and non-adherence to antihypertensive medication from patients’ perspectives. Methods: A qualitative study engaged clients of an out-patient clinic of a regional referral hospital in southwestern Uganda who were living with hypertension as participants. One-on-one in-depth interviews provided the narrative data. The interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings: Sixteen participants provided the data for the findings. The themes identified as facilitators for adherence to antihypertensive medication were patients’ understanding of prescribed medication, availability of medication for hypertension, family support for patients living with hypertension, and regular review appointments at the hypertensive clinics. Conversely, lack of supply in government dispensaries, use of self-prescribed analgesic medication, and stigma were identified as barriers and challenges of adherence to antihypertensive medication. Conclusions: There is an urgent need for the health ministry to improve availability of high blood pressure medication and for health care providers to deliver individualized patient centered care, and sensitization on danger of self-prescription and measures that reduce stigma. These strategies may improve adherence to high blood pressure medication.

SUBMITTER: Najjuma J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7470164 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Adherence to antihypertensive medications is a key component to control blood pressure levels. Poor adherence to these medications leads to the development of hypertensive complications and increase risk of cardiovascular events which in turn reduces the ultimate clinical outcome. The purpose of this study was to assess antihypertensive medication adherence and associated factors among adult hypertensive patients. A hospital-based cross-sectional study among adult hypertensive patients was conducted at hypertensive follow-up clinic of Jimma University Specialized Hospital from March 4, 2015 to April 3, 2015. A simple random sampling technique was used to select the study participants from the study population. The study patients were interviewed and their medical charts were reviewed using a pretested structured questionnaire. Adherence was assessed using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) and MMAS-8 score less than 6 was considered as non-adherent and MMAS-8 score was ? 6 was declared as adherence. Factors associated with adherence were identified using binary and multivariate logistic regression analysis. Crude odds ratio, adjusted odds ratio (AOR) and 95% confidence interval of the odds ratio were calculated using SPSS version 21. Variables with p-value less than 0.05 were assumed as statistically significant factors.Among 280 hypertensive patients, 61.8% of the study participants were found to be adherent. More than half (53.2%) of the participants were males and the mean age of the participants was 55.0 ± 12.7 years. Co-morbidity (AOR = 0.083, 95% CI = 0.033-0.207, p < 0.001), alcohol intake (AOR = 0.011, 95% CI = 0.002-0.079, p < 0.001), getting medications freely (AOR = 0.020, 95% CI = 0.003-0.117, p < 0.001), and combination of antihypertensive medications (AOR = 0.32, 95% CI = 0.144-0.712, p < 0.005) were inversely associated with antihypertensive medication adherence.The adherence level to the prescribed antihypertensive medications was found to be sub-optimal according to the MMAS-8, and influenced by co morbidity, alcohol intake, self-purchasing of the medications and combination of antihypertensive medications.

Project description:Adherence to medication has been repeatedly proposed to represent a major cause of treatment-resistant hypertension (TRH); however, treatment decisions such as treating TRH with renal denervation depend on accurate judgment of adherence. We carefully analyzed adherence rates to medication before and after renal denervation and its effect on blood pressure (BP) control. Eighty patients with TRH were included in 2 prospective observational studies that assessed the difference of potential antihypertensive and nephroprotective effects of renal denervation. To compare prescribed with actual medication intake (representing a measure of adherence), we analyzed urine samples collected at baseline and at 6 months after renal denervation for antihypertensive compounds or metabolites (by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry). In addition to office BP, 24-hour ambulatory BP and central hemodynamics (central systolic pressure, central pulse pressure) were assessed. Informed consent for analyses of urine metabolites was obtained from 79 of 80 patients. Actual intake of all antihypertensive drugs was detected at baseline and at 6 months after renal denervation in 44 (56%) and 52 (66%) patients, respectively; 1 drug was missing in 22 (28%) and 17 (22%) patients, respectively, and ≥2 drugs were missing in 13 (16%) and 10 (13%) patients, respectively. At baseline, 24-hour ambulatory BP (P=0.049) and central systolic BP (P=0.012) were higher in nonadherent patients. Adherence did not significantly change overall (McNemar-Bowker test, P=0.362). An increase in adherence was observed in 21 patients, and a decrease was observed in 11 patients. The decrease in 24-hour ambulatory BP was not different in those with stable adherence 6 months after renal denervation (n=41, -7±13 mm Hg) compared with those with increased adherence (n=21, -10±13 mm Hg) and decreased adherence (n=11, -7±14 mm Hg) (P>0.20). Our study is limited by the relatively small sample size and potentially by the specific health environment of our university center (Northern Bavaria, Germany). Nonadherence to medication among patients with TRH was relatively low: ≈1 of 6 patients with TRH did not take ≥2 of the prescribed drugs. Adherence pattern did not change significantly after renal denervation and had no impact on the overall observed BP changes, supporting the concept that renal denervation is an effective treatment in patients with TRH. URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifiers: NCT00888433, NCT01442883 and NCT01687725.

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Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication: An Interview Analysis of Southwest Ugandan Patients’ Perspectives

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