Abstract
ABSTRACTOBJECTIVE To analyze factors associated with low adherence to drug treatment for chronic diseases in Brazil.METHODS Analysis of data from Pesquisa Nacional sobre Acesso, Utilização e Promoção do Uso Racional de Medicamentos (PNAUM - Brazilian Survey on Access, Use and Promotion of Rational Use of Medicines), a population-based cross-sectional household survey, based on a probabilistic sample of the Brazilian population. We analyzed the association between low adherence to drug treatment measured by the Brief Medication Questionnaire and demographic, socioeconomic, health, care and prescription factors. We used Poisson regression model to estimate crude and adjusted prevalence ratios, their respective 95% confidence interval (95%CI) and p-value (Wald test).RESULTS The prevalence of low adherence to drug treatment for chronic diseases was 30.8% (95%CI 28.8-33.0). The highest prevalence of low adherence was associated with individuals: young adults; no education; resident in the Northeast and Midwest Regions of Brazil; paying part of the treatment; poor self-perceived health; three or more diseases; reported limitations caused by a chronic disease; using five drugs or more.CONCLUSIONS Low adherence to drug treatment for chronic diseases in Brazil is relevant, and regional and demographic differences and those related to patients’ health care and therapy regime require coordinated action between health professionals, researchers, managers and policy makers.
Highlights
Noncommunicable diseases, a global health problem, are the target of various prevention and control programs and initiatives[1]
The highest prevalence of low adherence was associated with individuals: young adults; no education; resident in the Northeast and Midwest Regions of Brazil; paying part of the treatment; poor self-perceived health; three or more diseases; reported limitations caused by a chronic disease; using five drugs or more
The prevalence of low adherence to drug treatment for chronic diseases in Brazil was 30.8% (95%CI 28.8-33.0) and only 2.6% (95%CI 2.1-3.2) of respondents were classified as adhering to prescribed therapies
Summary
Noncommunicable diseases, a global health problem, are the target of various prevention and control programs and initiatives[1]. Many noncommunicable diseases can be controlled by the use of drugs, which, when available and properly used, lead to therapeutic success. An important factor that directly influences therapeutic outcomes is adherence to drug treatment, defined as the degree of agreement between a person’s behavior and professional guidance[22]. Factors related to non-adherence to treatment described in the literature concern individual characteristics of patients, the actual disease, the drugs used and interaction between patients and health services, among others[20]. The characteristics of certain health conditions or therapies may lead to specific barriers to adherence. For illnesses that require complex regimes (polypharmacy, multiple daily administrations, difficulties with administration), such as asthma and diabetes, the actual daily difficulties associated with the use of drugs are an important barrier to adherence[3]
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