Medication Noncompliance among Patients with Chronic Diseases Attending a Primary Health Facility in a Periurban District in Ghana

BACKGROUND: Despite the growing interest in understanding the aetiology of chronic diseases, limited studies exist on medication noncompliance, especially, among periurban and rural dwellers in Ghana. In this study, we determined the prevalence of medication noncompliance and explored the medication intake behaviour of patients with chronic diseases. The relative influence of cost on medication noncompliance and the risk factors for noncompliance were also assessed. METHODS: The design was a cross-sectional study of 200 patients from ages below 40 years to ages above 60 years sampled from the Offinso South Municipality, a periurban district of the Ashanti region of Ghana. Data collected through the administration of structured questionnaires was coded, cleaned, and analysed using the SPSS (v20) software programme. Descriptive and multivariate analyses using binary logistic regression were performed. RESULTS: Medication noncompliance was high (55.5%), with patients living with HIV/AIDS and those with psychological disorders being the most noncompliant. Majority of patients took at least 2 medications (81.5%), did so twice daily (79.0%), did not experience side effects with intake (67.0%), considered their medication to be effective (88.5%), and were aware of the complications that could arise from noncompliance. The dominant route of medication intake was oral (86.8%) and a lesser proportion of patients (22.5%) took herbal preparation alongside their prescribed medications. The cost of medication did not prevent patients from adhering to their medication regimen as most of these drugs were covered by the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). Age, duration of diagnosis and difficulty in remembering medication instructions were identified as significant predictors of noncompliance. CONCLUSION: Educating patients on the need to be compliant with their medication regimen, the complications that could arise from noncompliance and avoidance of intake of herbal medications during their treatment should form part of the clinical sessions organized for patients with chronic conditions.