Adherence to medication for schizophrenia in a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Sulaimani

Abstract EN

Objectives : the rate of adherence to medications among patients with schizophrenia was investigated and reasons for non-adherence explored.

methods : a cross sectional study was conducted across a two month period at the Ali Kamal psychiatric outpatient clinic in Suleiman.

in total, 100 patients were selected on the basis of DSM 5 criteria for schizophrenia using a convenience sampling technique.

outcome measures were the drug attitude inventory (DAI-10) and the Medication Adherence Rating Scale (MARS) along with socio-demographic and clinical variables.

results : seventy three percent of the patients studied reported being adherent to medication.

a significant association was found between non-adherence and younger age group, living in rural areas, short duration of illness, being unaware of the disorder and positive family history of mental disorders.

other predictors of non-adherence were forgetfulness, carelessness, feeling (tired, sluggish, strange, or ‘zombie-like’) on medication, taking drugs only when feeling ill, stopping them when feel better or worse, denying feeling more relaxed or more normal or their thoughts being clearer on drugs, taking medication against one’s will, believing that it is not natural for mind/body to be controlled by drugs, disadvantages of drugs are more than advantages, and drugs cannot prevent experiencing mental breakdown.

conclusion : medication non-adherence among patients with a diagnosis schizophrenic is common in outpatient settings although expected to be higher among inpatients.

main factors associated with non-adherence are younger age, living in rural areas, short duration of illness, being unaware of the illness and positive family history of mental disorders.