Drug utilization, medication adherence and treatment satisfaction amongst glaucoma patients receiving care at secondary health facilities

Abstract

Abstract Objectives The objective of this study was to assess treatment satisfaction, medication adherence and drug utilization amongst glaucoma patients receiving care at secondary health facilities. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted amongst glaucoma patients attending eye clinics of General Hospital Ilorin and Civil Service Hospital Ilorin in Kwara State, Nigeria from October 2020 to January 2021. Three hundred and eleven patients were enrolled in the study. Sampling was based on convenience as dictated by the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Ethical permission and informed consent were obtained before data collection. Validated instruments of Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication were used during the data collection process. Descriptive and Chi-square analyses were employed. Key findings Amongst the 311 patients studied 184(59.2%) were females with a mean age of 63.79 ± 14.89 years. Timolol eye drop was the drug of choice for monotherapy in (8.7%) of patients. Combination therapy of beta blockers and carbonic anhydrase inhibitors had the highest number (59.5%) of prescriptions. More than half (55.6%) of the patients were adherents. Participants reported being more satisfied with their anti-glaucoma therapy in the domain of global satisfaction (62.89 ± 21.85) followed by medication effectiveness (62.67 ± 20.78) and convenience (60.16 ± 15.79) while medication side effects had the least score (17.17 ± 11.09). There is a statistically significant relationship between patient satisfaction with treatment and medication adherence at P= 0.001. Conclusions Combination therapy was the most frequently utilized anti-glaucoma agent. Most of the patients adhered to their medications and were satisfied with the treatment received.