Assessing medication-related burden of community-dwelling individuals with chronic conditions in a small island state.

OBJECTIVES: Medication taking in the management of chronic conditions causes a significant burden on individuals. The aim of this study was to explore the medication-related burden in ambulatory adult patients with chronic conditions in Malta.

METHODS: A cross-sectional survey utilising the living with medicines questionnaire V3 (LMQ V3) was conducted in Maltese residents over the age of 18 years, taking at least 1 medication for a chronic condition and recruited through community events. The overall LMQ score, the domain scores and the visual analog scale data were analysed to determine relationships with the demographic factors.

RESULTS: A total of 337 responses were analysed revealing a moderate (42.4%) to high medication (36.8%) related burden. The drivers of medication-related burden were primarily: 'side-effects of prescribed medication' (r = -0.843, p  < 0.001), 'attitudes/concerns about medicine use' (r = -0.830, p  < 0.001) and 'impact/interferences to day-to-day life' (r = -0.820, p  < 0.001). Lack of autonomy to vary the dosage regimen resulted in a higher burden (r = -0.260, p  < 0.001). Males experienced an overall higher burden ( p  = 0.046) especially related to practical difficulties ( p  = 0.04), cost-related burden ( p  = 0.04) and side-effects of prescribed medication ( p  = 0.01).

CONCLUSION: Medication-related burden is complex and multi-faceted as demonstrated by the findings of this study. Healthcare professionals should seek to identify and address factors causing this burden to improve patient outcomes.