Reliability of the Amharic Version of the Medication Adherence Report Scale and Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire in Patients with Asthma in Ethiopia.
Non-adherence to asthma medications is often associated with poor health outcomes, necessitating a reliable measurement of its extent. Thus, the aim of this study is to assess the reliability of the Medication Adherence Report Scale for asthma (MARS-A) and the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire-Specific (BMQ-Specific) adherence measures among patients with asthma in Ethiopia.
A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients with asthma at a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia from January to May 2024. The MARS-A and BMQ-Specific tools were used to assess adherence and patients' beliefs about medicines, respectively, while sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as reasons for non-adherence, were obtained through patient interviews and electronic medical records. Descriptive statistics were used to present patient characteristics, and Cronbach's alpha was calculated to evaluate internal consistency.
The study included 250 patients with a mean age of 53.82 (SD = 13.79) years, of whom 57.2% had well-controlled asthma, and 24.8% were non-adherent to prescribed medications according to MARS-A. According to patient reports, the primary reasons for non-adherence were unaffordability and unavailability of medications. The overall mean (SD) MARS-A score was 4.60 (0.43). The MARS-A and BMQ-Specific instruments were found to be reliable, with Cronbach's alphas of 0.904 and 0.961, respectively.
Our findings indicate that the Amharic versions of the MARS-A and BMQ-Specific are reliable instruments for assessing medication adherence and beliefs about medicines among Ethiopian patients with asthma.
A hospital-based cross-sectional study was conducted among adult patients with asthma at a tertiary hospital in Ethiopia from January to May 2024. The MARS-A and BMQ-Specific tools were used to assess adherence and patients' beliefs about medicines, respectively, while sociodemographic and clinical characteristics, as well as reasons for non-adherence, were obtained through patient interviews and electronic medical records. Descriptive statistics were used to present patient characteristics, and Cronbach's alpha was calculated to evaluate internal consistency.
The study included 250 patients with a mean age of 53.82 (SD = 13.79) years, of whom 57.2% had well-controlled asthma, and 24.8% were non-adherent to prescribed medications according to MARS-A. According to patient reports, the primary reasons for non-adherence were unaffordability and unavailability of medications. The overall mean (SD) MARS-A score was 4.60 (0.43). The MARS-A and BMQ-Specific instruments were found to be reliable, with Cronbach's alphas of 0.904 and 0.961, respectively.
Our findings indicate that the Amharic versions of the MARS-A and BMQ-Specific are reliable instruments for assessing medication adherence and beliefs about medicines among Ethiopian patients with asthma.
Authors
Gebremariam Gebremariam, Hayiso Hayiso, Moon Moon, Horne Horne, Yusuf Yusuf, Kebede Kebede, Ali Ali, Habte Habte
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