Factors Associated With Hypertensive Medication Adherence among Adults in the Birim North District

Abstract

Background: High incidence of lifestyle-related illnesses and conditions create a double burden, given that the country already has a high rate of infectious diseases that require significant human and financial assets to control. High blood pressure is the main cause of cardiovascular diseases. Objective: To determine factors that influence adherence to hypertensive medication among adults in Birim North district. Method: A cross-sectional study was used. A sample of 244 respondents were interviewed. Data were collected using questionnaires with Morisky 8 items of medication adherence measurement with a simple random sampling method. The collected data were analyzed using STATA version 15.0 and results presented in tables and figures. Chi-square, fishers exact, binary and multiple logistic regressions were used to determine the association of hypertensive medication adherence. Results: Prevalence of hypertensive medication adherence was 33.61% out of the 244 study participants. Average monthly income (p<0.001), distance from a health facility (p<0.001), quality of care (p=0.009) and longer duration on hypertensive medication were statistically significantly associated with hypertensive medication adherence. The multiple logistic regression shows that duration on hypertensive medication, availability of caregivers, distance, and quality of care were uncovered to be associated with hypertensive medication adherence among adults in Birim north district. Conclusion: This study shows that adherence to hypertensive medication was low in Birim north district. This calls for the need for continues health education with much emphasis on the consequences of non-adherence with treatment.