Measuring the Adherence to Prescription Medicines in Adult Bhutanese Population in Thimphu: A Cross Sectional study

Abstract

Background: Medication adherence is a key factor for treatment success in patients. The purpose of this study was to assess medication adherence and the potential factors associated with it among the patients. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional design in which socio-demographic characteristics and behavioral practices were recorded and explored in relation to medication adherence. Data were analyzed with SPSS Version 20.0. Results: A total of 251 patients was selected. Of all the participants, 22.30% reported low adherence, 33.50% medium adherence and 44.20% high adherence to prescribed medication. The factors significantly associated with high adherence were distress level (AOR = 2.85, 95% CI: 1.30-6.22,

p-value 0.001), synchronized refill schedule (p-value>0.00), and the number of doses (p- value=0.05).

Conclusion: A significant number of patients had medium and low level of adherence to medications. These findings call for the need of policy initiative to improve intake behavioral practices.