Ayodapo AO1*, Shabi OM2, Agboola SM2, Monsudi KF3, Deji-Dada OO4 and Olukokun TA2
1Department of Family Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State,
Nigeria
2Department of Family Medicine, Federal Medical Centre, Ido-Ekiti, Ekiti State,
Nigeria
3Department of Ophthalmology, Federal Medical Centre, Birnin-Kebbi, Kebbi State,
Nigeria
4Department of Family Medicine, Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti,
Ekiti State, Nigeria
*Corresponding Author: Ayodapo AO, Department of Family Medicine, University College Hospital, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Received: February 18, 2020; Published: May 11, 2020
Background: Hypertension is a global health issue among the adult population with high morbidity and mortality rates. As the case detection rate of hypertension increases in adult Nigerians, achieving goal blood pressure (BP) control has become an important management challenge due to poor adherence to medication.
Objective: To determine the role of patient education in medication adherence amongst adult Nigerians with primary hypertension attending primary care clinic of tertiary hospitals in Ekiti State.
Methods: Quasi-experimental study was carried out in 580 adult patients (290 in intervention and 290 in control group) with primary hypertension who had been on treatment for at least 6 months. Relevant data were collected using interviewer administered semi-structured questionnaire. Participants in intervention group received education sessions about hypertension and medication adherence at every clinic visit in a structured and individualised format. The control group was routinely monitored.
Results: The difference in the mean knowledge score in the intervention group increased to a statistically significant level (p < 0.05), from 9.5 ± 2.8 to 10.9 ± 3.0. An increase of 8.7 (p = 0.000) in mean adherence score was found in the intervention group after the education sessions while a marginal difference of 0.2 (p = 0.059) was found in the control group. Mean knowledge score and adherence to medication of subjects in intervention group showed a significant increase compared to those of the control group. Knowledge, adherence status and blood pressure control were significantly different between the two groups (p < 0.05) at the end of the study.
Conclusion: Good knowledge about hypertension as a result of clinician educating patients is linked to better medication adherence and ultimately improved BP control. Primary care Physicians will do well to educate hypertensive patients with a view to improving medication adherence in them.
Keywords: Medication Adherence; Patient Education; Blood Pressure; Intervention; Hypertension
Citation: Ayodapo AO., et al. “Patient Education and Medication Adherence: A Quasi-Experimental Study in Tertiary Hospitals Southwestern Nigeria". Acta Scientific Medical Sciences 4.6 (2020): 37-44.
Copyright: © 2020 Ayodapo AO., et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.