Medication Adherence Among Older People With Hypertension in Southeast Asia: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Background: Medication adherence (MA) is a crucial factor in effectively managing hypertension (HTN). Southeast Asia (SEA) is one of the regions with a significant burden of HTN. Understanding MA among patients with HTN is vital to identifying gaps and potential strategies to enhance its use and effectiveness for this region. However, little is known about MA among this population. This review study aimed to identify MA strategies implemented in previous studies on older people with HTN in SEA. Methods: This scoping review was conducted from 2013 to 2023 by searching the Global Medicus Index, PubMed, ScienceDirect, EBSCO, CINAHL, Wiley, Garuda, and Google Scholar and grey literature to identify the aims of this paper using keyword variations such as "elderly" OR "older people" AND "hypertension" OR "Hypertensive" OR high blood pressure" AND "medication adherence" OR "medication compliance" AND "southeast Asia". Three reviewers independently examined the results, and the extracted data were then organized, categorized, and summarized. Results: Out of 742 studies reviewed, 16 met the criteria and were included in this review. The evidence indicated that MA rates among older people with HTN in several countries in SEA were considered poor, with various reasons for non-adherence. Family support and level of knowledge were found to be the most common supportive factors for MA. Some studies demonstrated negative perceptions toward medication, with previous reviews reporting the use of herbal medicine as self-treatment due to fear of side effects of prescribed medications. Conclusion: The level of adherence to prescribed medication among older people is considered low in the reviewed studies. The main reasons for non-adherence are negative perceptions toward prescribed medication, which were also expressed in some studies. Moreover, various efforts were made by individuals to improve their adherence to medication use.

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