ASSESS THE MEDICATION ADHERENCE AND FACTORS AFFECTING TO MEDICATION ADHERENCE AMONG PATIENTS WITH BRONCHIAL ASTHMA AT SRI RAMACHANDRA HOSPITAL, PORUR, CHENNAI

Purpose: Bronchial Asthma is a chronic disease that affects the airways. Lung function declines faster than average in people with asthma. Overall, one study reported that 72% of men and 86% of women with asthma had symptoms 15 years after an initial diagnosis. Only 19% of these people, however, were still seeing a doctor, and only 32% used any maintenance medication. Hence a study was conducted to determine the level of medication adherence and factors associated with non adherence among patients with bronchial asthma. The objectives of the study were to assess the level of medication adherence among patients with bronchial asthma and identify the reason for non adherence to prescribed therapy and associate the level of medication adherence with the selected demographic variables. Methods: A Qualitative study design was adopted and the study was conducted in Chest OPD, Sri Ramachandra Hospital, Chennai, Tamilnadu. A total of 60 patients were selected for the study by using convenient sampling technique. Results: The result suggest that 37 (61%) has low level of adherence, 9 (17%) has moderate level of adherence and 14 (22%) of them are highly adherent to the treatment. There is an significant association between the medication adherence and family history and duration of asthma. Conclusion: Hence the Nurses play a vital role in imparting the knowledge of pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics aspect of each drug being prescribed to them.  This can be facilitated by motivating the nurses to provide outpatient based education to progress towards their well-being.