Traditional medication adherence and its related factors among patients with lumbar spine pain at Thua Thien Hue province

Tóm tắt

Objectives: This study evaluated adherence to traditional medication and examined its associated factors among patients experiencing lumbar spine pain at Thua Thien Hue province.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 234 lumbar spine pain patients aged 18 and above receiving traditional medicine treatment by using convenience sampling method. The General Medication Adherence Scale (GMAS) was used to assess medication adherence. Multiple logistic regression model was used to identify factors related to non-adherence to traditional medication among these patients.

Results: Out of the 234 patients included in the study, 51.7% adhered to traditional medicine. Medication non-adherence among inpatients was associated with living in poverty or near-poverty households (AOR: 4.27, 95% CI: 1.62–11.22), a treatment duration exceeding five years (AOR: 10.53, 95% CI: 3.47–31.95), and awareness of medication side effects (AOR: 3.67, 95% CI: 1.54–8.74). For day inpatients/outpatients, being aged 60 or older (AOR: 4.66, 95% CI: 1.17–18.46) and taking medication only once or twice per day (AOR: 9.39, 95% CI: 2.57–34.28) were significant factors. Additionally, in both models, not using the decoction form of traditional medicine was linked to higher non-adherence, with AOR values of 6.81 (95% CI: 2.05–22.58) for inpatients and 6.09 (95% CI: 1.34–27.70) for day inpatients/outpatients.

Conclusion: These findings support developing targeted interventions to improve adherence to traditional medicine in lumbar spine pain patients, aiming to enhance treatment outcomes and patient quality of life.