Perceived Family Support and Medication Adherence amongst Hypertensive Outpatients in a Tertiary Hospital, Ibadan, Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Adherence to medications is a primary determinant of treatment effectiveness and studies have shown that the level of adherence is positively correlated with treatment outcomes in patients with chronic diseases. Besides, an association has been reported to exist between family support and good health outcome. Determining the relationship between medication adherence and family support will assist physicians in offering holistic care to patients with hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the relationship between family support and adherence to drug treatment amongst hypertensive outpatients in a family practice in Ibadan.

METHOD: This was a prospective cross-sectional study. Atotal of 390 outpatients aged 18years and above with hypertension at the Family Medicine Clinic, University College Hospital, Ibadan (UCH) were recruited randomly for 3months. Participants' data were obtained through a semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaire. The data was analyzed using bivariate analysis and significant variables were analyzed using logistic regression.

RESULT: The medication adherence rate was 42.6%. Participants with perceived strong family support (97%), older age (55.6%), and with the diagnosis of disease of more than 10years (54.4%) adhered better to medication in this study.

CONCLUSION: The medication adherence amongst patients with hypertension still remain low and Family support is an important positive factor, hence, involvement of family members in treatment is sacrosanct. Furthermore, the physician should use every encounter to counsel younger patients with hypertension and with lesser years of diagnosis on the benefits of medication adherence.