• Users Online: 8401
  • Home
  • Print this page
  • Email this page
Home About us Editorial board Search Ahead of print Current issue Archives Submit article Instructions Subscribe Contacts Login 
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Year : 2017  |  Volume : 4  |  Issue : 1  |  Page : 20-25

Factors for nonadherence to antihypertensive drugs among Federal Civil Servants attending health facilities − Abuja, FCT


1 n Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Programme, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria
2 Department of Community Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria, Nigeria

Correspondence Address:
Aisha A Abubakar
Department of Community Medicine, Ahmadu Bello University Zaria
Nigeria
Login to access the Email id

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None


DOI: 10.4103/ssajm.ssajm_46_16

Rights and Permissions

Introduction: Hypertension affects approximately one billion people worldwide. Three hundred and forty million of these in economically developed and 340 million in economically-developing countries. The World Heart Federation reports that in the developed world, about 330 million people have hypertension, and about 640 million in the developing world. Estimates indicate that up to three quarters of the world’s hypertensive population will be in economically developing countries by the year 2025. Non-adherence to antihypertensive drugs is one of the most important causes of uncontrolled blood pressure. Materials and Methods: Between August 2013 and June 2014, we enrolled 424 hypertensive patients in a cross-sectional study using systematic sampling technique. The Morisky Green test for non-adherence was used to assess non-adherence to drugs. Information was collected regarding socio-demographic, drug related and healthcare service delivery factors to patient non-adherence using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Univariate, bivariate and multivariate analysis was conducted using Epi info software. Results: The level of non-adherence was 69.1%. Factors that were independently associated with non-adherence were; being a Junior Civil Servant (OR 2.9: 95%CI 1.1–7.7), exhaustion of drugs before the next clinic appointment (OR 5.9: 95%CI 2.8–12.5), buying drugs in private pharmacies and open market (OR 1.9: 95%CI 1.03–3.3) and total time spent counselling of less than five minutes (OR 1.8: 95%CI 1.02–3.2). Conclusion: The level of non-adherence in this study was found to be high. Creating special support groups for Junior Civil Servants, ensuring patients come back to the hospital to refill their drugs, improving counselling techniques and making prescribed antihypertensive drugs constantly available in the hospital, could improve the level of non-adherence to antihypertensive drugs among patients attending Federal Staff Hospitals and Clinics.


[FULL TEXT] [PDF]*
Print this article     Email this article
 Next article
 Previous article
 Table of Contents

 Similar in PUBMED
   Search Pubmed for
   Search in Google Scholar for
 Related articles
 Citation Manager
 Access Statistics
 Reader Comments
 Email Alert *
 Add to My List *
 * Requires registration (Free)
 

 Article Access Statistics
    Viewed6270    
    Printed368    
    Emailed0    
    PDF Downloaded407    
    Comments [Add]    
    Cited by others 2    

Recommend this journal