Demitri Dedousis
SUNY Downstate College of Medicine, USA
Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Health Edu Res Dev
Non-adherence to medication is associated with poor treatment outcomes and an increased rate of hospitalization, especially among vulnerable patient populations. The study assessed the nature and frequency of non-adherence to medication in the primary care setting. It also assessed the strategies used to combat non-adherence and sought to identify possible solutions. This study was performed in the outpatient Primary Care Clinic of Kings County Hospital. The vast majority of the clinic�s patients are African American or Afro-Caribbean, and have either Medicaid or no insurance at all. Using a sample of convenience, the study tracked the rate of non-adherence as well as the types of and reasons for non-adherence. The study found the rate of non-adherence to be 24%. The most common type of non-compliance was underutilization of medication. 50% of non-adherent patients had stopped taking medication and another 35% either skipped doses or only took the medication sometimes. The leading reason for medication non-adherence was lack of understanding (32%), followed by unwillingness to take the medication (26%) and problems with sideeffects (21%). Interestingly, no patients cited cost or inability to obtain a prescription as a reason for their non-adherence. The main strategy for increasing patient adherence was in visit education (63%), followed by arranging social support (19%). Within this patient population, non-adherence was related to a conscious choice in 95% of patients. The fact that non-adherence was a conscious choice, frequently associated with lack of understanding, suggests that patient education has a major role to play in increasing patient adherence.
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