Landing on the MARS!!!

摘要

Background: Inadequate adherence to prescribed medication severely affects the efficacy of the treatment and acts as an important modifier of health system effectiveness1. It has significant negative economic and clinical effects which are manifested by frequent relapses and re-hospitalisations. Aims: By using a validated and reliable tool to assess medication adherence, we were aiming to identify the compliance level among our Psychiatric group of patients, and explore the reasons and possible causes of non-adherence. We also aim to identify the diagnoses and medicines which are mostly linked to non-adherence. Method: We used the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) and a patient questionnaire to obtain information about client’s adherence and their attitude towards psychotropic medications. We used prospective consecutive sampling and included all clients seen in the outpatient clinic during the 2 months duration of the study. The sample included clients aged 16 years and above. Results & Clinical Implications: Results indicate a significant gap between subjective and objective rates of adherence. They also indicate that patients’ attitudes towards their psychotropic medications are quite negative. Taking into account and addressing issues pertaining to side effects are very important to improve the level of adherence. Results also show that most of our clients are only partially adherent to psychotropic medication.