| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2019 | Volume
: 4
| Issue : 2 | Page : 39-44 |
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Quality of care: A strong predictor of treatment compliance in hypertensives
Mariyam Khwaja1, Mohd Athar Ansari2, Saira Mehnaz2
1 Department of Community Medicine, IIMSR, Integral University, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India
2 Department of Community Medicine, JNMC, AMU, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Correspondence Address:
Dr. Mariyam Khwaja
202A/58, Jawahar Nagar, Opposite Hathi Park, Lucknow - 226 018, Uttar Pradesh
India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijas.ijas_8_19
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Context: Many countries have reported <25% of patients treated for hypertension achieve optimum control despite the availability of effective treatments. Poor compliance to treatment forms the main reason of uncontrolled blood pressure. Strategies for improving accessibility and affordability of drugs have an important influence on compliance particularly in poor sections of the population.
Aims: This study aims (1) to determine the impact of health care and provider factors on compliance to hypertension treatment and (2) to suggest measures for the removal of the identified barriers.
Settings and Design: This was community-based cross-sectional study conducted in urban and rural areas in Aligarh.
Subjects and Methods: A total of 356 hypertensive patients were selected using simple random sampling. A pretested semi-structured questionnaire was used for the study. Compliance was measured by Morisky 8-item Medication Adherence Scale.
Statistical Analysis Used: Analysis was done using proportions and Chi square test in SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) software version 20.0. It was developed initially in 1968. It was acquired by IBM in 2009. The current versions (2015) are named IBM SPSS Statistics.
Results: Easy accessibility and affordability of drugs were found to be significantly associated with treatment compliance. Long clinic waiting time and dissatisfaction with relation with physician were some other reported barriers to treatment compliance.
Conclusions: An uninterrupted supply of medicines; sustainable financing, affordable prices, and reliable supply systems can help the poor sections of the society and improve compliance. Universal access of health-care services is another area to be emphasized, especially in the outreach areas.
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