Objective: To determine the frequency of adherence to hepatitis C treatment and assessment of the factors that are associated with non-adherence to its treatment.
Methodology: This descriptive cross-sectional was conducted at Tehsil Head Quarter Hospital, Shujabad District Multan from 1st August 2021 to 1st April 2022. A total of 173 participants with chronic hepatitis C taking antiviral medications were recruited through a non-probability convenient sampling technique. The Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) was used to evaluate the level of adherence to treatment. Data analyses were done using SPSS version 25. Pearson chi-square was used to identify the variables linked to non-adherence to treatment.
Results: Out of 173 patients, 12.7% had high adherence, 35.8% had medium adherence, and 51.4% had low adherence to treatment. We found that non-adherence to hepatitis C treatment was significantly associated with low education status, low income, smoking, duration of illness, co-morbid illnesses, and marital status.
Conclusion: Non-adherence to hepatitis C treatment is highly prevalent among hepatitis C patients. Understanding patients’ socio-demographic factors and appropriate counselling services is important in achieving high adherence to hepatitis C treatment.
Key words: Adherence rate, counseling, Hepatitis C, Multan, treatment.
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