Investigation of Medication Adherence and Factors Affecting It in Patients With Stroke

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence is important in reducing the rate of secondary stroke in patients previously given a diagnosis of stroke. Therefore, there is a need to examine medication adherence and the factors affecting it in these patients. This study aimed to examine medication adherence in patients with stroke and the factors affecting it. METHODS: This study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional design carried carried out on 183 stroke patients. Data were obtained between January and December 2019 using a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics form, the Morisky's Questions -Self-Reported Measure of Medication Adherence, the Turkish translation of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire, the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale, and the revised Turkish version of Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with high medication adherence was 33.9%. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with stroke were found as not effective factors in medication adherence. Specific concerns and general overuse in the Turkish translation of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire were found as factors affecting medication adherence. The Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale and its subscales were found to be not effective factors in medication adherence. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the proportion of patients with high medication adherence was low. Patients' concerns about the possible side effects of their prescribed medications and beliefs about the overuse of medications negatively affected their medication adherence. It is recommended that nurses evaluate patients' medication adherence and beliefs about medications during hospitalization, discharge, or home visits. Structured nurse-led intervention programs are needed to enhance patients' medication adherence and beliefs about their medications.

The analysis of factors affecting medication adherence in patients with myasthenia gravis: a cross-sectional study

“…Our results regarding the proportion of patients with myasthenia gravis that exhibited poor medication adherence (52%) are consistent with (55.2%) 11 or lower than (61.5%) 13 those of two other studies; however, the sample sizes of these other studies were smaller, 58 and 26, respectively. Moreover, the current study findings were higher than those of certain chronic nervous system diseases requiring oral treatment, such as Parkinson’s disease (44%), 18 and lower than those for others, namely, epilepsy (66.2%), 19 stroke (66.1%), 20 multiple sclerosis (64.5%), 21 and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (66.6%). 22 …”

Medication self-management interventions for persons with stroke: A scoping review

“…Importantly, adherence to medication post-stroke is critical for minimizing the risk of recurrent strokes [ 9 ]. However, medication adherence may be a precursor to the effectiveness of these medication regimens and can be impacted by a multitude of factors, such as an individuals’ beliefs and concerns about medications, functional ability, and access to medication, including who prescribes the medication and how and where it is dispensed [ 10 – 12 ].…”

Factors Related to Beliefs about Medication in Ischemic Stroke Patients

“…Beliefs about medication were studied as a predictive factor for medication adherence, and a representative factor that can be influenced by medical personnel [5][6][7]. Horne reports that the necessity of, and concerns about, medication determines participants' belief in medical treatment, which in turn affects medication adherence [8].…”