PATIENT COMPLIANCE AND BARRIERS TO ANTIHYPERTENSIVES IN A TEACHING HOSPITAL IN SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Hypertension, a major global health concern, affects a significant proportion of the population and is a leading cause of cardiovascular diseases, stroke, and renal failure. The control of hypertension requires the long-term use of pharmacotherapy, with a need for strict compliance to medications to avert life-threatening complications. This study aimed to assess patient knowledge of hypertension and its management, level of compliance to antihypertensives, barriers to medication adherence, and explore strategies to overcome these barriers in a teaching hospital in southern Nigeria, with the goal of improving patient outcomes and reducing the prevalence of hypertension related complications.

METHODOLOGY

A cross-sectional comparative study was used to assess 349 patients, recruited via a systematic random sampling technique from University of Uyo Teaching Hospital, Uyo, Akwa-Ibom state. Data was collected using semi-structured, interviewer-administered questionnaires and analyzed using a statistical package for social science(SPSS) software version 20. A p-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

RESULTS

The findings showed that 10.9% of the respondents diagnosed 10 years and above were 40 years or younger, while 89.1% were aged 41years and above, with males making up to 43.6% while females were 56.4%. Only 73.9% of patients had good knowledge of hypertension and its management, and 23.2% had fair, while 2.9% had poor knowledge. The proportion of patients that stopped taking their antihypertensives when they felt better was 42.7%. 61.89% agreed that their medications were too expensive. Patients taking Valsartan were the least compliant with their medications.

CONCLUSIONS

The study proves that the level of knowledge about hypertension and its management, along with socio-economic factors played a pivotal role in patient compliance with antihypertensives. We recommend that the Federal Ministry of Health collaborate with Health professionals in addressing this knowledge gap through health education. We also recommend the use of effective social support systems and health insurance to reduce out of pocket spending on medications.