Patients’ Health Information and Medication Adherence in Hypertension Management at Kenyatta National Hospital; Kenya

Abstract

Background: Ministry of Health in Kenya National STEPS survey observed, 56% of Kenyans had never been checked for blood pressure, 90% of those on treatment still had their blood pressure uncontrolled and of major concern is complications of hypertension account for over 50% hospitalization and 40% of hospital mortalities [1]. Objective: This study determines Medication adherence health information needs among patients on hypertensive management at Kenyatta National Hospital; Nairobi County, Kenya. Methods: Random sampling was used to select 259 study participants. Systematic sampling was used so that every 2nd patient from the sampling frame was interviewed, the Morisky Medication adherence scale - 8 scale was used. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used and chi-square test and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. Results: Most patients with difficulty in adhering to medication plan had raised blood pressure on clinic day. 88.7% forgot taking medicine the previous day, 71.9% stopped or changed medication dosage without consulting the doctors, 66.7% stopped or skipped using medicine whenever blood pressure was well or controlled, 57.6% feel harassed adhering to treatment plan, and 55.9% forget taking medication when travelling. Conclusion: Health Information on adherence to medication plan was found to be inadequate. Patient factors affect adherence to medication plan, patients with adherence challenges had their blood pressure outside normal ranges on the clinic day. It is recommended that the Kenya Ministry of Health and Kenyatta National hospital improve medication adherence through provision of health information on medication adherence.