Adherence to Antihypertensive Medications among Patients Attending Akuse Government Hospital in the Eastern Region of Ghana

Abstract

Background: Only about half of persons take their prescribed prescriptions for chronic illnesses. The main objective of the study is to determine the factors associated with the adherence to antihypertensive treatments amongst patients at the Akuse Government Hospital at Akuse in the Lower Manya Krobo Municipality of the Eastern Region of Ghana. Methodology: This study employed a descriptive cross-sectional quantitative approach. The Hill-Bone Medication Adherence Scale (HB-MAS) was used for data collection. Data were analysed using STATA 17 and the results obtained were expressed as frequencies and percentages. Bivariate and Multivariate analyses were also conducted to assess the association between sociodemographic variables and adherence. Results: Majority of the respondents were males with the highest ages of 50-59 years. There was a high adherence to antihypertension medications with a percentage of 85. Statistically significant association was found between antihypertensives adherence and age with a (p-value=0.04) and the bivariate analysis also found a significant association between marital status and adherence to antihypertensives with p-value=0.016. Conclusion and Recommendation: There is a high level of adherence measured among the out-patients - 85%. It is recommended that the public health unit continues to ensure patients are educated well on their condition to enable them to become more adherent.