Medication adherence of diabetic and hypertensive patients attending primary health care centers: Cross-sectional study in Morocco

BACKGROUND: Medication adherence is a key factor in controlling chronic diseases, particularly diabetes and high blood pressure. We aimed to describe the level of medication adherence of patients with diabetes or high blood pressure in urban and rural areas in Morocco and to identify the factors associated with medication non-adherence. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from August 1, 2019 to January 30, 2020, among participants recruited from primary health centers in Morocco. The Girard questionnaire was used to measure medication adherence, and bivariate and multivariate analyses were done using SPSS software. RESULTS: A total of 502 patients were recruited, with a majority of women (70.5%). According to the Girard questionnaire, a minority of our patients had good adherence to medication (11.8%), less than half had low adherence (38.4%), and half were non-adherent (50%). The factors associated with medication non-adherence for patients with diabetes were living in rural areas, being overweight, taking antidiabetic oral drugs, and suffering from dyslipidemia. Concerning the patients with high blood pressure, medication non-adherence was higher among patients with dyslipidemia, overweight patients, and those who benefited from a free treatment. For patients suffering from both, the associated factors of non-adherence were taking oral drugs, a multi-therapy of anti-hypertensive drugs, and shorter diabetes duration. CONCLUSION: This study highlighted several matters concerning medication adherence among patients with chronic diseases. Healthcare professionals should encourage and help their patients to take their medications.