DRUG COMPLIANCE AMONG PARENTS AND GUARDIANS OF CHILDREN IN ACCRA, GHANA

Through a structured questionnaire, 523 parents and guardians who received prescription to collect medicine for their wards at the pharmacy of the Department of Child Health, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital were interviewed during the months of March and April, 1993. The objectives were to determine to what extent they remembered prescription instructions for their wards and to find out any other factors that contributed to drug non-compliance. A large percentage (about 80%) were able to recount instructions given correctly. It was however worrying, that quite a sizeable number could not recount instructions given. This obviously contributed to non-compliance. Other factors that were found and which could have contributed to non-compliance were: poor economic standing, non-availability of drugs at the hospital pharmacy, availability of similar drugs at home and patients getting well before the scheduled period of treatment is over. Of particular concern was the response by some parents/guardians that they would double the dosage to their wards to make up for a missed one should they forget any of the scheduled doses. Workers at pharmacy shops need to use simple practical means of giving prescription instructions, especially to illiterate patients.