Medication adherence in geriatric patients attending medical outpatient department

Background: Adherence to medication represents a challenge in managing chronic conditions in the geriatric population. This study assessed adherence rates and factors affecting adherence of geriatric patients attending the Helen Joseph Hospital outpatient department. Methods: This was a prospective cross-sectional study of 130 patients aged 65 years and older, with at least two chronic conditions. Participants were administered a survey incorporating the Medication Adherence Rating Scale and the Adherence Barrier Questionnaire to identify medication adherence and patient-specific barriers to adherence, respectively. These instruments are reliable and valid. Results: Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used for analysis. Most patients were female (63%) with a mean age of 72 (67–78) years. Common comorbidities included type 2 diabetes mellitus (63%), hypertension (98%), dyslipidaemia (92%) and congestive cardiac failure (38%). Polypharmacy was prevalent, affecting 53% of the participants. Despite 96% of participants being adherent, all had at least one barrier to adherence, with the majority (65%) having more than one barrier. The main barriers were forgetfulness (59%), fear of side effects (39%), problems with taking the medications (26%) and believing medications are poisonous (22%). Although most participants accessed the pharmacy easily, only 83% reported consistent medication availability and 11% could not afford to collect their medication. Conclusion: Polypharmacy is common in the population. Despite high adherence rates, barriers such as believing medications are poisonous remain significant. A good patient–doctor relationship improves adherence. Contribution: Understanding the barriers to adherence in older adults with polypharmacy and multimorbidity can assist practitioners improve patient care.