Non-Adherence to Medication in Outpatient Setting in Nigeria: The Effect of Employment Status

Background: Non-adherence to prescribed medication and health regimen has been identified as responsible for poor health outcomes. This study investigates the reasons for medication non-adherence in outpatient setting among malaria patients in Nigeria.

Methods: This research adopted quantitative research methods. A well-structured questionnaire was completed by 440 respondents with minimum age of 18 years. The aim of the questionnaire was to get respondents’ reasons for non-adherence to medication. The demographic details of the respondents were also captured.

Results: Age, gender, educational level, marital status and medication payment were found not to influence non-adherence while employment was a significant variable. Respondents also indicated fear of death, nauseating smell of drugs, religious beliefs, the side effects of medication, the fear of taking counterfeit drugs or drugs that are past their expiry dates as also responsible for non-adherence.

Conclusion: The results highlighted reasons for poor adherence in southwest Nigeria. Interventions can be targeted towards these reasons.