European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences

A CROSS SECTIONAL STUDY TO ASSESS PHARMACOTHERAPEUTIC ADHERENCE AMONG HYPERTENSIVE PATIENTS IN TERTIARY CARE HOSPITAL

Richa Gaur, Dr. Pooja Agrawal*, Virendra Kushwaha, Saurabh Agrawal and Amit Kumar

ABSTRACT

Background: Effective prevention of cardiovascular events in people with hypertension requires most appropriate control of blood pressure. Despite come closer in management, poor adherence to antihypertensive medications is often reported as the major reason attenuating treatment efficacy. The objective of the study was to determine current antihypertensive medication adherence in India. Material and Methods: Hospital based cross-sectional study design was conducted from April 2017 to June 2018. The data was collected by interviewing hypertensive patients receiving antihypertensive medications using Morisky‟s four item scale questionnaire. The data were analyzed with chi square test. Results: From the 76 patients of hypertension, when asked about adherence to their medications: 73 (96.50%) of them did not forget to take the drugs, 64 (84.56%) of patients reported that they had been being careful in taking their medications, 54 (70.49%), 67 (88.71%) patients did not stop medications when they felt better and when they felt worse while taking medications respectively. Conclusions: This study revealed a moderate level of adherence among the participants.

Keywords: Hypertension, medication adherence, Morisky?s scale.