The Bellevue and the Hagley Park mental health outpatient clinics in Jamaica serve the majority of psychiatric patients in the country, but there is a dearth of research on medication compliance, which is a very important mental health issue. Medication compliance affects intervention outcomes. Therefore, this study seeks to examine medication compliance among psychiatric patients in Jamaica. A 33-item questionnaire which included items on demographics, health conditions, medication compliance and insightfulness was administered to a sample of 370 participants with a response rate of 93%. The majority of the participants have schizophrenia, followed by depression, bipolar disorder and drug-induced psychosis. The majority of the participants (65.3%) did not comply with their prescribed medication regimen. Medication compliance was significantly related to: gender (P < 0.05) where males were more likely to take the prescribed medication, family support (P < 0.05) where the participants who received family support (the majority being males) were more likely to take the prescribed medication, and insightfulness (P < 0.05) where the majority of participants with insightfulness were females. Locus on control was not statistically tested but a majority of the non- compliant participants reported that factors external to themselves had greater control over their disorder. Conclusion: There are three significant factors that explain the medication compliance of psychiatric patients in Jamaica. An important non-tested factor is locus of control so there needs to be more research to understand the range of factors that can inform and improve patient education about medication compliance.
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