Background: The burden of the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is increasing over the years. Worldwide, the leading cause of morbidity and mortality has been due to NCDs. Although NCDs are multifactorial, hypertension plays a major role as a risk factor. Lack of treatment adherence can lead to negative health consequences.
Objectives: The objectives of the study were as follows: (1) To assess patients compliance to antihypertensive drugs; (2) to evaluate association between treatment compliance and sociodemographic determinants; and (3) to find out the factors responsible for non-adherence.
Materials and Methods: This study was carried among 350 hypertensive patients in the rural field practice area of a medical college using simple random sampling method. The study population consists of hypertensive patients belonging to 2060 years of age. A pretested structured questionnaire containing Moriskys scale was used to assess patients adherence. Data analysis was done using SPSS (Version 22).
Results: Nearly 53.7% of the study participants were female. The prevalence of treatment compliance was estimated to be 24.6%. Statistically significant association was observed between age, education, and socioeconomic status with adherence to hypertensive medications (P < 0.05). Many reasons were identified for non-adherence and they include cost of treatment (21.4 %), side effects (27.5%), alternative treatment (16%), lack of knowledge (32.8%), and multiple drugs (25%).
Conclusion: The prevalence of 23.6% of patients being adherent to hypertensive medications was observed among the study population. It is necessary to strengthen treatment adherence by various health education campaigns and implementing various health programs.
Key words: Adherence; Treatment; Morisky
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