Psychosocial Determinants of Medication Adherence Among Psychiatric Outpatients

Abstract

Medication adherence refers to compliance by patients in taking their prescribed medications as instructed by their doctors. Lack of treatment adherence has shown to be associated with negative attitude to pharmacotherapy. This study was set out to determine the influence of psychosocial factors on medication adherence among outpatient of Federal Neuro-psychiatric Hospital Yaba, Lagos. The study adopted survey design with a randomized sample of 277 participants selected purposively. The participant responded to Big Five Personality Inventory (BFI), Religiosity Oriented Test (ROT) and Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8). Data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. The result revealed a 44.8% and a 55.2% prevalence of high and low medication adherence respectively. Observed significant independent determinants of medication adherence among the outpatients include personality traits (R² =.034 p = .000) and religiosity (R² =.037 p = .001). Personality traits and religiosity jointly predicted medication adherence (R²=.024, p= .000). Respondents' nature of illness (F (4,273) = 8.81, p=. 000) as well as level of education (F (5,271) = 5.964, p = .000) significantly influenced medication adherence. Findings concluded that personality traits, religiosity, nature of illness and educational level are psycho-social determinants of medication adherence among outpatients. Authors recommend psychoeducation to enlightenment of patients on the importance of adherence to medication.