[Drug prescriptions: Adherence and understanding in Madagascar]

Frequently ignored or neglected, poor adherence is an important cause of treatment failure and a major public health problem. We assessed the factors involved in adherence in a hospital in Madagascar. This long-term study evaluated two groups of variables: patients' level of understanding of their disease and drug prescriptions, and the information on the prescription written by the doctor. We interviewed 93 in-patients (mean age: 50 years) and found that 16% were illiterate. Overall, 27% did not know the name of their illness, 34% were unaware of the treatment objectives, and 14% did not understand the drug prescription. On 20% of the prescriptions, the patients' name was not included, and the daily dose information and schedule was omitted from 16%. A day after receiving the prescription, only 64% had purchased the medication and only 53% of all patients had taken any. A correlation was observed between illiteracy, knowledge of the disease/treatment goals, and non-purchase of drugs. The poor quality of information contained in the prescriptions and patients' poor understanding of what they were supposed to do are obvious. Using pre-completed health forms and text messages might improve adherence.