Medication Adherence, Self-efficacy, and Attitude toward the Management of Coronary Artery Disease among Elderly with Coronary Artery Disease

Abstract Introduction: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the fourth most common chronic illness in the elderly. Despite advancements in the management of CAD, medication therapy remains the supreme mode of treatment. Methods: The study aimed to assess medication adherence, self-efficacy, and attitude toward the management of CAD in 380 older adults. Adherence Scale in Chronic Disease Scale, Sullivan’s Cardiac Self-efficacy Scale, and a self-constructed attitude scale were used to assess medication adherence, cardiac self-efficacy, and attitude toward the management of CAD. Results: The majority (49.21%) reported medium medication adherence. The self-efficacy mean score was 49.56 ± 9.07. More than half, 53.16% had an unfavorable attitude toward the management of CAD. A positive correlation was established between medication adherence and cardiac self-efficacy, medication adherence and attitude, and cardiac self-efficacy and attitude with ρ = 0.3801, P ≤ 0.0001; ρ = 0.4562 , P ≤ 0.0001; and r = 0.3411 , P ≤ 0.0001, respectively. Discussion: The current study findings were aligned to the findings of a clinical research study among 221 patients which revealed that 49.8% had a medium level of adherence, whereas 26.7% had high adherence and 23.5% had low level of adherence on using the Adherence in Chronic Disease Scale. This study indicates the need for nurses and other healthcare providers to assess medication adherence, self-efficacy, and attitude of the patients periodically, as it will help them to identify the patients at risk and plan interventions appropriately. Conclusion: Older adults with CAD are at a risk of developing life-threatening complications due to various influencing factors. Therefore, healthcare workers should collaborate to pave the ground for ensuring higher medication adherence and improving the general health of older adults.