Publication: ASSOCIATION BETWEEN TREATMENT BURDEN, HEALTH LITERACY, AND MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN OLDER ADULTS LIVING WITH MULTIPLE CHRONIC CONDITIONS IN SELANGOR
Date
2023
Authors
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Publisher
International Medical University
Abstract
Background: There is a growing trend in multimorbidity among the older adult
population, which necessitates a complex treatment regimen as well as selfmanagement
strategies and health literacy. Older adults who are burdened with their
treatment and have poor health literacy may experience difficulty adhering to their
medication plans. This study aimed to explore quantitatively how treatment burden
and health literacy affect medication adherence in elderly living with multiple chronic
conditions.
Methods: Face-to-face structured interviews were conducted in 10 general
practitioners (GP) clinics in Selangor among elderly aged >60 years to collect data
comprising of (1) demographic details, (2) treatment burden assessed using the Burden
of Treatment Questionnaire (TBQ-15), (3) health literacy of participants assessed
using the Short Form Health Literacy Questionnaire (HLS-SF12) and (4) medication
adherence level of participants assessed using the Malaysia Medication Adherence
Assessment Tool (MyMAAT). Chi-square test and Pearson correlation coefficient test
analyses were conducted to analyze the relationships among the study variables.
Results: Hypertension (30.2%), hyperlipidemia (24.0%), and diabetes (18.0%) were
the most reported chronic conditions among participants. The mean score of treatment
burden was 53.4 out of 150 (SD = 28.2), indicating an acceptable burden of treatment.
The mean score of health literacy was 16.4 out of 50 (SD = 12.6), indicating a limited
health literacy level among participants meanwhile mean score of medication adherence was 32.6 out of 60 (SD =12.3), indicating medication non-adherence among
participants. Medication adherence was significantly correlated with treatment burden
(r = -0.22, p <0.0001), health literacy (r =0.36, p <0.0001), number of chronic
conditions (r = -0.23, p <0.0001), and age (r = -0.11, p <0.05).
Conclusion: The study findings indicate that multimorbid older adults with high
treatment burden and low health literacy have poor medication adherence, underlining
the importance for clinicians to recognize treatment burden and poor health to improve
medication adherence among elderly with multiple chronic conditions.
Keywords: Treatment burden; quality of life; medication; adherence, health; literacy,
geriatrics.
Description
Keywords
Quality of Life, Geriatrics, Health Literacy, Multimorbidity, Noncommunicable Diseases, Communicable Diseases