Journal of Psychiatry

Prevalence and risk factors of non-compliance to medications in patients of schizophrenia in BPKIHS

28^th International Conference on Psychiatry and Mental Health

November 20-21, 2017 Melbourne, Australia

Rinku Gautam Joshi, Sarkar V, Kumar R, Adhikari B R and Shakya D R

B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Nepal

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Psychiatry

Abstract:

Statement of the Problem: Long term medication is required for proper management of schizophrenia. Noncompliance to prescribed drug treatments has been recognized as a problem worldwide and may be the most challenging aspect in treating schizophrenia. Knowing the prevalence and risk factors of non compliance would help formulate plans and policies to increase compliance. Aims: To find out the prevalence and reasons of non-compliance in patients with schizophrenia and its association with sociodemographic variables. Methodology: Patients attending psychiatric services, who are diagnosed as Schizophrenia as per ICD-10/DCR were enrolled and socio-demographic details obtained. Patients were evaluated using the PANSS to assess severity of illness. Subjective reasons of medication non-compliance were assessed using ROMI scale. The relation between non-compliance and sociodemographic profile was analyzed and reasons for non-compliance were studied. Findings: In the study the mean age of patients was 30.78±12.53 years (mean±SD). It was observed that 46.3% were compliant and 53.8% were non-compliant. A significant association was found between duration of illness and mean negative score. The main reason for non-compliance identified in the present study was denial of illness followed by no current need for medications which may be due to the lack of knowledge about the illness. Conclusion & Significance: More than half of the patients were non-compliant. The main reason for non-compliance was denial of illness and considering no current need for medications which may be because of lack of knowledge about the illness that signifies the importance of psychoeducation. Recommendations are made for starting support groups to tackle the problems of the family members in managing the patient effectively and developing standard protocol for providing consistent medication adherence counseling for the mental health professionals, which will improve the compliance to medication and treatment. Recent Publications 1. Chandra I S, Kumar K L, Reddy M P and Reddy C M P K (2014) Attitudes toward medication and reasons for noncompliance in patients with schizophrenia. Indian Journal of Psychological Medicine; 36: 294. 2. Eticha T, Teklu A, Ali D, Solomon G and Alemayehu A (2015) Factors associated with medication adherence among patients with schizophrenia in Mekelle, Northern Ethiopia. PloS one; 10(3): 1-11. e0120560. 3. Galani V J, Patel J, Patel K and Patel D (2013) An epidemiological survey of patients suffering from schizophrenia in Gujarat. 2013. Mintage J Pharmaceut Med Sci.; 2: 15-7. 4. Higashi K, Medic G, Littlewood K J, Diez T, Granström O and De Hert M (2013) Medication adherence in schizophrenia: factors influencing adherence and consequences of nonadherence, a systematic literature review. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology; 3: 200-218. 5. Maan C, Hussain M, Heramani N and Lenin R (2015) Factors Affecting Non-Compliance among Psychiatric Patients in the Regional Institute of Medical Sciences, Imphal. IOSR J Pharm; 5: 1-7.

Biography :

Rinku Gautam Joshi is an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in B.P. Koirala Institute of Health Sciences, Dharan, Nepal. Her research interest focuses in women’s mental health.