Medication Non-Adherence Behaviors and Potential Barriers Among Chronically Ill Patients

Background: Poor adherence to medications represents a significant barrier to achieving the desired health outcomes in patients with chronic diseases. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate medication non-adherence and its associated factors among chronically ill patients. Methodology: In this cross-sectional study, the 4-item medication adherence scale was used to assess adherence among chronically ill patients attending the outpatient clinic of a government primary healthcare center from June to November 2024. The logistic regression statistical model was used to determine the factors associated with medication non-adherence. Results: In total, 160 patients were included in the study with a non-adherence rate of 43.1%. Not receiving information about medication (OR = 2.87; CI: 1.4–3.9), number of daily pills (OR = 1.61; CI: 1.1–2.3), polypharmacy (OR = 2.30; CI: 1.3–3.3), changes in treatment (OR = 3.10; CI: 2.2–4.6), and lack of appropriate knowledge (OR = 2.88; CI: 1.2–4.1) were associated with medication non-adherence. On the other hand, incorporating treatment plans into daily activities (OR = 0.17; CI: 0.05–0.6) was inversely associated with medication non-adherence. Conclusion: Low medication adherence highlights the need for interventions that improve patients’ medication-related knowledge, minimize the number of prescribed medications and pills per day, and encourage integrating medication-taking into daily routines.