Non-adherence to pharmacotherapy and its associated factors among patients with angina in Jordan

Objective The study aim was to explore factors associated with medication non-adherence in patients with angina in Jordan. Methods The current study was conducted in the outpatient cardiac clinic at the Royal Medical Services Hospital in Amman. Variables including socio-demographics, biomedical variables in addition to disease and therapy factors were collected for 500 patients with angina using medical records and custom-designed questionnaire. Medication adherence was assessed using the validated 4-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale. Logistic regression was performed to develop a model with variables that best predicted medication non-adherence. Key findings The majority of the study patients (79.4%) were found non-adherent to the prescribed medications. Regression analysis identified duration of illness (P < 0.037; OR = 1.090) and number of chronic diseases (P < 0.035; OR = 1.621) as significant predictors of medication non-adherence. Conclusion Clinical pharmacists should focus on improving medication adherence for patients with angina. Patients who have longer duration of angina and those with multiple comorbid diseases should be specifically targeted in future pharmaceutical care programmes designed to improve health outcomes for patients with angina in Jordan.