PREVALENCE OF MEDICATION NONADHERENCE AND LEVEL OF HEALTH LITERACY AMONG DIAGNOSED HYPERTENSIVES PATIENTS IN A SELECTED BARANGAY IN MANILA, PHILIPPINES

Abstract

Background: Medication nonadherence is one of the major causes of treatment failure especially in chronic diseases such as hypertension. Previous studies in other countries have determined certain factors associated with medication adherence but little is known about the role of these factors in the local setting. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of medication nonadherence among diagnosed hypertensives and to describe their level of health literacy. Methods: A cross-sectional study design was employed. The study population consisted of hypertensive patients aged 25-59 years old registered with a health center that is implementing a free hypertension medication program. Recruitment of the hypertensive patients was done through recruitment flyers which were distributed on a house-to-house basis in the whole barangay. A house-to-house structured interview was administered utilizing the following data collection instruments: Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MAQ) and Short- Form Health Literacy Questionnaire (HL-SF12). Results: Prevalence of non-adherence to hypertension medication was 51.06%. An association was found between health literacy and medication non-adherence, that is, those who had limited health literacy were almost twice as likely to be non-adherent compared to those with adequate health literacy (PR:1.96, 95% CI: 0.90-4.27), although the association was not statistically significant. Conclusion: The high prevalence of nonadherence to antihypertensive medication among hypertensive patients implies the need for health care providers to recognize the critical role of health literacy in treatment compliance.