International Journal of Pharma and Bio Sciences STUDY ON NON-ADHERENCE AND THE EFFECT OF COUNSELING IN THE PHARMACOLOGICAL MANAGEMENT OF PSYCHIATRIC PATIENTS

Treatment non-adherence remains one of the greatest challenges in psychiatry. Nonadherence prolongs the duration of therapy and hence the treatment cost increases. Hence this study was conducted to identify the factors contributing to non-adherence and to provide pharmaceutical care to avoid non-adherence. This prospective study was carried out in the psychiatric outpatient department (OPD) of Sri Ramachandra Hospital, a tertiary care hospital in Chennai, Tamilnadu, India. 200 psychiatric patients were enrolled in the study for a period of 8 months. A standardized proforma was prepared for data collection. Non-compliance was assessed by Modified Morisky Scale (MMS) and Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI). Out of 200 patients, 117 were male and 83 were female. Reasons for non-adherence included failure to renew prescription (44%), omission of doses (33%) and premature discontinuation of medication (25%). Non-adherence is a common and important issue. Patients and their care-takers should be counseled during every visit to avoid medication nonadherence. K.KOUSALYA Department of Pharmacy Practice, Faculty of Pharmacy, Sri Ramachandra University,