Factors affecting the acceptance of drug therapy in psychiatric ward patients

Abstract Background: 80-90% of psychiatric patients are on drug therapy after discharge from hospitals. Noncompliance is a common clinical problem and a major cause in hospitalizing the psychiatric patients. Objective: This study was to determine the factors effecting medication compliance in patients admitted to psychiatric wards in hospitals affiliated to Shahid Beheshti University of medical sciences, Tehran. Methods: The current work was a descriptive correlational study in which 100 patients admitted to psychiatric wards in Taleghani and Imam Hossein hospitals were selected on the basise of objectives and availability. Data collection was carried out using observation technique and a combination of questionnaires, information forms, and checklists. The data were analyzed using SPSS, t-test, ANOVA and ‍‍Pearson correlation. Findings: seventy seven percent of cases showed good compliance, and those with relative and poor compliance were 20% and 3%, respectively. There was a significant correlation between medication compliance and several factors including individual factors such as job (P=0.02), illness-associated factors such as nihilism delusion (p=0.001) and finally treatment-associated factors such as drowsiness side effect (p=0.03). Conclusion: Comparatively, hospitalized patients with no job and those with nihilism delusion and with drowsiness side effect showed weaker tendency to medication compliance than the other cases and so should be strictly monitored for medication compliance.