A cross-sectional survey of medication adherence and associated factors for rural patients with hypertension.

AIM: The objectives of this study were to describe the medication adherence of Chinese rural patients with hypertension and to investigate the factors associated with medication adherence.

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence and associated factors for patients with hypertension have been widely explored in previous studies; however, these studies mainly focused on hypertensive patients in urban areas. More information regarding prevalence and the correlated factors for medication adherence for rural patients with hypertension is needed to better control blood pressure and prevent hypertension-related complications.

METHODS: The study was carried out in three township hospitals in Shanxi Province (Northern China). A cross-sectional design was adopted to facilitate the survey of rural patients with hypertension. The sample consisted of 1159 participants from three township hospitals. Demographic and clinical characteristic variables, medication adherence and social support were investigated. Multivariate logistic regression was used to test the determinants of adherence.

RESULTS: The results demonstrated that 21.3% of patients were adherents to medication and that 78.7% of patients were non-adherents. Most of the participants (71.4%) took medication more than three times daily; only 18.2% of patients took one antihypertensive tablet at a time. Multivariate logistic regression showed that the following variables were associated with medication adherence: age, household income, duration of diagnosis, number of antihypertensive tablets taken in each dose, daily frequency of taking medication, and social support.

CONCLUSION: The medication adherence of Chinese rural patients with hypertension is suboptimal. Close attention and effective strategies targeting these patients are necessary; healthcare programs should be designed according to the factors affecting medication adherence.