Kakani Primary Health Care Center, Kakani, Nuwakot, Nepal.
Patan Academy of Health Sciences, Lalitpur, Nepal.
J Nepal Health Res Counc. 2021 Apr 23;19(1):83-86. doi: 10.33314/jnhrc.v19i1.1395.
Hypertension is a non-communicable disease and one of the most prominent modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular diseases. 7.6 million premature deaths are attributed to high blood pressure around the world. Better adherence with antihypertensive medications improves quality and length of life. This research focuses on the extent of adherence towards prescribed antihypertensive treatment, and identify factors influencing non-adherence.
Descriptive cross-sectional study design was undertaken in various health care centers (2 primary health care center and 3 hospitals) of Nepal. A total of 348 individuals (age above 30) who suffered from hypertension visiting health institutes were included in the study. Adherence was calculated using Morisky Medication Adherence scale.
Adherence level to the antihypertensive medication as per the morisky adherence scale, 38.8% had medium level of adherence, 37.4% had a low adherence level, and 23.9% had a high adherence level among 348 participants. From the total participants, 89 admitted to be irregular in medication use. 56% of them claimed to do so because of forgetfulness, 12.4 % because of consistent exercise and low-salt diet, 10.1% due to the lack of affordability.
Our study had concluded that the majority of participants had medium to low levels of adherence to anti-hypertensive drugs. Forgetfulness was major cause for irregular medication. Patient education and counseling, family support also seem to be important for proper adherence to drugs. Thus, health care providers should allocate ample time in educating, counseling clients and family.
高血压是一种非传染性疾病，也是心血管疾病最重要的可改变危险因素之一。全球有 760 万人因高血压而过早死亡。更好地坚持使用降压药物可以提高生活质量和延长寿命。本研究重点关注的是对降压药物治疗的坚持程度，并确定影响不坚持治疗的因素。
在尼泊尔的各个医疗保健中心（2 个初级保健中心和 3 个医院）进行了描述性的横断面研究设计。共纳入了 348 名（年龄在 30 岁以上）患有高血压并到医疗机构就诊的患者。使用 Morisky 药物依从性量表来计算药物的依从性。
根据 Morisky 依从性量表，348 名参与者中，38.8%的人具有中等水平的依从性，37.4%的人具有低水平的依从性，23.9%的人具有高水平的依从性。在所有参与者中，有 89 人承认用药不规律。其中 56%的人声称这样做是因为健忘，56%的人声称这样做是因为健忘，12.4%的人声称这样做是因为经常锻炼和低盐饮食，10.1%的人声称这样做是因为负担不起费用。
我们的研究得出结论，大多数参与者对降压药物的依从性处于中等至低水平。健忘是导致用药不规律的主要原因。患者教育和咨询、家庭支持似乎对药物的正确使用也很重要。因此，医疗保健提供者应该花足够的时间来教育、咨询患者及其家属。
