Abstract

IntroductionIt is known that non-adherence to psychiatric medications has harmful consequences for both patients and society. ObjectiveTo collect information on the incidence of non-adherence, and the factors and causes affecting adherence to psychopharmacological treatment in patients with severe and persistent mental disorders. MethodsA systematic review of scientific articles on adult patients (>17 years) published in the last five years (2015–2020) on specialised databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Scielo and BioMed. Original articles from indexed journals with an impact factor >0.5, in English or Spanish, with an analytical, prospective, retrospective, cross-sectional and randomised design were included. Once the articles were identified, they were analysed, extracting the information necessary to answer the research questions. ResultsFifteen articles were included. Of these, 40% (n = 6) were published in 2020, 20% (n = 3) were produced in China and 53.3% (n = 8) had an observational design. A total of 5,837 patients were included, of which 50.6% were men (n = 2,955), with moderate adherence (n = 10; 66.7%) reported in 10 investigations. Non-adherence varies from 7.7% to 60.6%. The factors that affect adherence are specific to the patient (age and sex), their family support network, and related to the disease or the treatment. The main cause of non-adherence is lack of insight. ConclusionsAdherence to treatment with psychotropic drugs is multifactorial. Access to mental health services should be improved, with an emphasis placed on patient education and providing greater knowledge of mental illness. Interventions to promote education and interaction with the psychiatrist could be beneficial.

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call

Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.