Evaluation of self-reported medication adherence and its associated factors among epilepsy patients in Hospital Kuala Lumpur

INTRODUCTION: Reports on medication adherence and its associated factors in patients with epilepsy in South East Asian countries are lacking. The primary purpose of this study was to assess the degree of medication adherence and its relationship with patient's satisfaction, psychosocial factors, quality of life and mental health in a sample of Malaysian epilepsy patients.

METHODOLOGY: It is a cross-sectional study and was carried out in the outpatient Neurology Department of Hospital Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (n=272). Data was collected by administering the structured questionnaire.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Results showed that 49.3% of the epilepsy patients were non-adherent to their prescribed regimen. Univariate analysis showed significant associations between medication adherence and the following factors: race, seizure frequency, overall patient satisfaction, medication taste and smell, medication cost and physical appearance, medication effectiveness, complexity of medication regimen, patient barrier, patient understanding, patient role functioning, patient positivity, vitality and general interest. Multiple regression analysis indicated that factors that are influencing medication adherence are seizure frequency (P = 0.048), overall patient satisfaction (P = 0.043) and patient understanding about their illness (P = 0.001). The model chosen for testing the relationship between medication adherence and its associated factors give an R2 value of 25.2% with an adjusted R2 of 21.4%. The F value was also significant (P = 0.000). Based on the research findings, the researchers recommends that clinicians need to play a vital role in educating the patients on their disease conditions. By educating the patients on nature of epilepsy, different modalities of treatment and benefits of adherence to treatment will help in the better adherence and management.