Beliefs about Medicine and Antihypertensive Medication Adherence among Patients’ Attending a County Referral Hospital in Kenya

Background: Non-adherence with antihypertensive medication and lifestyle recommendations remains a serious problem in many developed and developing countries. Patient’s belief about medication has been consistently found to be a significant predictor of medication adherence in various studies. Objective: To assess the relationship between hypertension medication beliefs and adherence to hypertension medication among patients attending a county referral hospital in Kenya. Methods: A Quantitative research design, utilizing a simple random sampling method and a researcher administered structured questionnaire was adapted. Previously validated, Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) and the Morisky’s Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-4) were utilized. Bivariate analysis was conducted using Chi square test and the Mann Whitney U test while multivariate data analysis was conducted using Binary logistic regression analysis. Odds ratio and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results with p values ≤ 0.05 were considered statistically significant. Results: Data from 96 participants, 55% female and 58% being over the age of 65 years were analyzed. 33.3% of the respondents had a high adherence level. None of the socio-demographic variables were found to be statistically significant to medication adherence using Chi square test analysis. Patients who had lower scores of concerns about medication were more likely to be adherents than their counter parts p=0.001 (OR=1.047; CI (1.019-1.076) likewise lower scores of general overuses predicted medication adherence p=0.001 (OR=1.069; CI=1.026-1.114). Conclusion: Health workers should formulate interventions to reduce concerns regarding medication, in order to promote adherence as informed by the findings of this study.