Adherence to antihypertensive medication and its associated factors among patients with hypertension attending a tertiary hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal

by Sunita Sharma, Chitra Raj Sharma, Suraj Sharma, Sajiva Aryal, Buna Bhandari

Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which is the leading cause of premature mortality and morbidity globally. Despite the evidences of the availability of effective treatment for hypertension, its management remains suboptimal. Medication adherence is the most crucial factor for blood pressure control. It is important to identify the factors associated with adherence to antihypertensive treatment for better management. Hence, this study assessed the level of antihypertensive medication adherence and its associated factors among patients with hypertension visiting a tertiary-level hospital in Kathmandu, Nepal. An analytical cross-sectional study was carried out among 308 diagnosed patients with hypertension who were prescribed antihypertensive medication. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to assess medication adherence. Data was collected through face-to-face interviews and analysed using SPSS v26. A bivariate and multivariate logistic regression model was used to assess the factors associated with low medication adherence. More than half (61%) of the study participants had moderate to high levels of medication adherence. Upon bivariate analysis, there was a significant association between presence of side effects, blood pressure status, forgetfulness, high cost, fear of taking medicine lifelong and irregular follow-up with a low level of adherence. Upon multivariate the logistic regression analysis, forgetfulness [Adjusted Odd’s Ratio (AOR) 22.5, 95% Confidence Interval(CI) 10.56–47.86], high cost (AOR 3.8, 95%CI 1.25–11.60) and fear of taking medicines lifelong (AOR 6.04, 95%CI 2.96–12.33) were found to be associated factors of low level of adherence. There is an urgency to develop evidence-based strategies to improve the level of adherence to antihypertensive medications among patients with hypertension. Strategies like reminder messaging, setting alarms, expanding the scope of national health insurance and proper counselling to reduce fear could help to improve medication adherence. Hence, the feasibility and effectiveness of such intervention should be explored in future studies.