Investigation of Medication Adherence and Factors Affecting It in Patients With Stroke

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence is important in reducing the rate of secondary stroke in patients previously given a diagnosis of stroke. Therefore, there is a need to examine medication adherence and the factors affecting it in these patients. This study aimed to examine medication adherence in patients with stroke and the factors affecting it. METHODS: This study adopted a descriptive and cross-sectional design carried carried out on 183 stroke patients. Data were obtained between January and December 2019 using a sociodemographic and clinical characteristics form, the Morisky's Questions - Self-Reported Measure of Medication Adherence, the Turkish translation of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire, the Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale, and the revised Turkish version of Mini-Mental State Examination. RESULTS: The proportion of patients with high medication adherence was 33.9%. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients with stroke were found as not effective factors in medication adherence. Specific concerns and general overuse in the Turkish translation of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire were found as factors affecting medication adherence. The Nottingham Extended Activities of Daily Living Scale and its subscales were found to be not effective factors in medication adherence. CONCLUSION: According to the results, the proportion of patients with high medication adherence was low. Patients' concerns about the possible side effects of their prescribed medications and beliefs about the overuse of medications negatively affected their medication adherence. It is recommended that nurses evaluate patients' medication adherence and beliefs about medications during hospitalization, discharge, or home visits. Structured nurse-led intervention programs are needed to enhance patients' medication adherence and beliefs about their medications.