Investigating the Beliefs Related to Drug Therapy and the Degree of Adherence to Treatment in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease in Hamedan City in 2021

Adherence to drug treatment in patients with coronary artery disease is very important because of the need for long-term use of drugs and the consequences of non-adherence. Several factors may play a role in drug adherence. In this study, the effect of drug therapy-related beliefs on adherence to drug therapy in patients with coronary artery disease was investigated.

The present cross-sectional study was conducted in 2021 in Hamedan, Iran. Two-hundred and fifty-six patients with coronary artery disease hospitalized and referred to the specialized heart clinic of Hamedan City Heart Hospital were selected by the available sampling method. The level of medication adherence was assessed with Moriski's medication adherence questionnaire and medication belief was assessed with the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). In addition, demographic information, risk factors, and drug history were extracted from patients' records. The collected data were analyzed using Chi-square, Kruskal-Wallis, and Spearman's correlation coefficient.

The medication adherence rates of good, moderate, and poor were 35.2%, 31.6%, and 28.1%, respectively. In patients with poor, moderate, and good adherence to drug treatment, respectively, the mean score of belief in the need for drug treatment was 19.3±2.34, 19.3±2.25, and 18.3±10.7 (P=0.005). Worry about drug treatment 17.3±2.84, 16.3±2.58 and 15.2±77.32 (P=0.001), belief in drug prescription 14.2±26.7, 2.16±2. 13.13 and 11.2±83.6 (P = 0.001), belief in treatment harms 13.3±10.5, 10.67 and 9.2±57.7 (P = 0.001) and score Overall belief in drug treatment was 64.8±47.9, 59.9±18.67 and 55.7±28.45 (P=0.001).

More than half of the patients had appropriate drug treatment, though, the belief of the harm of drug treatment and the fear of drug side effects, and coronary artery disease drugs were related to the reduction of drug treatment compliance.