Patient’s compliance towards antihypertensive drugs at Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail

A study has been carried out from August 2012 to December 2012 to determine the adherence to antihypertensive drugs in Hospital Sultanah Nora Ismail. Hypertension patients whom are taking any antihypertensive medications are selected randomly during screening process at the dispensing counter. Patient whom are having normal blood pressure and paediatric patients were excluded from this study. The questionnaires were distributed to selected patients at the counter, filled up and return by patients while they wait for dispensing. 100 patients had participated throughout this study. The information from the questionnaire then compiled and documented. The data then analysed using Statistical Package for the Social Science Version 15.0 (SPSS). Most of the patients involved in this study take [1-blocker combined with Calcium Channel Blocker and Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor (14%), followed by [)-blocker combined with Angiotensin Converting Enzyme Inhibitor (9%), and calcium channel blocker (8%). The least group of antihypertensive drugs taken by patients is P-blocker combined with Calcium Channel Blocker and a antagonist (1%). The compliance assessment was done using Morisky’s Scale. The results are as following; compliant (38%), satisfactory (17%), average (27%), poor (9%) and non-compliant (3.75%). Most of the patients (52%) had chosen forgetfulness/ careless to take medicine as the reason for non-compliance. It followed by taking too much medication at the same time as antihypertensive drugs (59.7%) and time / place constraint to get the medicine (27.4%). The other reasons for non-compliance are do not understand the intake of the medicine (22.6%); lack of awareness on the importance of taking health (21%); worry about the side effect of medicine taken (19.4%) and preferred more to traditional medicine (16.1%).