Barriers of Drug Adherence among Patients with Epilepsy: in Tertiary Care Hospital, South India

Abstract

Introduction: Epilepsy is a treatable and curable brain disorder. However major proportion of individuals with this disease in developing countries receives no treatment because of misunderstandings of the public. Other than that, poor adherence to ordered medication is considered the primary cause of drug therapy failure in epilepsy. This study conducted to assess the adherence pattern to antiepileptic regimen, among patients with epilepsy and to identify the clinical and patient-related factors contributing as barriers. Methods: A cross sectional survey design was used in 100 epilepsy patients in an Outpatient unit of tertiary care center. A Convenient sampling technique was used to enroll the patients who meet inclusion criteria. Structured interview with pre-tested questionnaire and eight item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale was used to collect the data. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for analysis of data. Descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, frequency and percentages) were used to describe the clinical and demographic variables of study participants. The determinants of medication adherence were analyzed using Chi-Square test and independent student t- test. The analysis was done with SPSS 20th version. Results: Majority (71%) of patients were not adherent to antiepileptic treatment. Severity of seizure (indicated by the presence of seizure last year), medication frequency and complexity of treatment were found to have significant association with the Anti-Epileptic Drugs (AED) adherence status. Status of adherence is significantly associated with frequency of seizure/year and positive life style. Conclusion: As Medication adherence was observed to be low, services for adherence counseling and health educational interventions in the epilepsy clinics is recommended.

Detecting Reasons for Nonadherence to Medication in Adults with Epilepsy: A Review of Self-Report Measures and Key Predictors

“…Adherence was recorded using the MMAS in 16 of the included studies (see also Table 1 ). In half of those studies, the MMAS-4 [ 8 , 18 , 27 , 37 , 39 , 48 , 50 , 51 ] was used, whereas the other half used the MMAS-8 [ 21 , 23 , 29 , 34 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 ]. MMAS evaluates forgetfulness and modification of medication due to an improvement in wellbeing, as well as therapy-associated factors in terms of side-effects.…”

Adherence to antiepileptic drugs among patients attending the neuro spinal hospital in the united arab emirates

“…This is in line with the findings of other researchers for gender,[ 5 7 , 17 26 ] ethnicity,[ 8 ] marital status,[ 7 ] and family history. [ 20 ]…”

“…About half of our participants had generalized type of epilepsy (50.5%), which is similar to earlier reported findings from India (48.0%). [ 20 ] In addition, our participants started having the disease at an early age. In fact, about 69% had the disease during childhood and adolescence.…”

The Effect of Comprehensive Video-Assisted Epilepsy Education on Drug Adherence and Self-Care in People with Epilepsy

“…Societal stigma often caused by misconceptions, myths, and misunderstandings about the disease have been observed for thousands of years. 3 4 Social discrimination often leads to reduced interest to access medical care, and many of them try to hide their disease in view of negative stereotyping. 5 6 A range of incorrect and even harmful practices to regulate seizure are frequently embraced; for instance, keeping iron rod in the hand, rubbing irritants to eyes, holding the patient in fire, burns, and ingestion of cow urine.…”