Medication adherence and its influencing factors in community-dwelling older adults with chronic illnesses in a rural area

Older adults with chronic diseases are usually required to manage multiple medications and complex medication regimens. Medication adherence is crucial in older adults which is increasingly being recognized due to its potential to impact healthcare utilization and treatment efficacy. The current study aimed to assess medication adherence and its influencing factors in community-dwelling older adults with chronic illnesses in rural areas. ‎

Methods & Materials: 

A cross-sectional study design was used to achieve the study aim. The study sample was composed of 310 older patients from a rural area in Sharkia Governorate, Egypt. Medication adherence was assessed by the Arabic version of the General Medication Adherence Scale. Association between medication adherence and older patients' characteristics was identified through the Chi-square test, Pearson's correlation coefficient, and Logistic regression.

Among 310 older patients, 84.8% of them were non-adherent to their medications. Significant relationships were found between medication adherence and age, gender, educational level, marital status, and monthly income. Aging less than 70 years, female gender, sufficient income, fewer illnesses, and medication number were significant predictors for medication adherence.

The current study findings revealed that most rural older adults with chronic illnesses were non-adherent to their medications, with many influencing factors such as age, gender, educational level, monthly income, and illnesses and medication number. So, the study recommends the importance of developing strategies to improve medication adherence in community-dwelling older adults in rural areas.