Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 29, 2025
Digital Home-Monitoring of Patients after Kidney Transplantation: The MACCS Platform
Published on: April 12, 2021
Medication Adherence Barriers and Their Relationship to Health Determinants for Saudi Pediatric Dialysis Patients
Leena R Baghdadi1,2, Manar M Alsaiady2
1Department of Family and Community Medicine, College of Medicine, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi Arabia.
Insights
Medication adherence in Saudi pediatric dialysis patients is influenced by factors like age, parental employment, and location. Key barriers include fatigue, forgetfulness, and taste, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nephrology
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
Background:
- Medication adherence is crucial for managing chronic diseases, yet data on pediatric dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia is scarce.
- Understanding adherence barriers is vital for improving treatment outcomes in this population.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate medication adherence barriers and their association with health determinants in Saudi children undergoing dialysis.
- To inform the development of interventions to enhance treatment success.
Main Methods:
- A hospital-based, cross-sectional survey was conducted using simple random sampling among pediatric dialysis patients.
- Data on medication adherence, barriers, and sociodemographic factors were collected and analyzed.
Main Results:
- Leading adherence barriers included medication fatigue, lack of motivation, bad taste, and forgetfulness.
- Higher adherence scores correlated with increased patient age, working parents, and living outside Riyadh.
- Peritoneal dialysis patients showed a trend towards higher adherence than hemodialysis patients (p=0.07).
Conclusions:
- Sociodemographic factors, health systems, and access to care significantly influence medication adherence in pediatric dialysis patients.
- Targeted, evidence-based interventions, potentially leveraging digital health, are needed to improve adherence.
- Further research should explore systematic frameworks to enhance adherence strategies.
Abstract:
Medication adherence is critical for the treatment and improved outcomes of chronic diseases. However, there is little research on the medication adherence of pediatric dialysis patients in Saudi Arabia. This study examines medication adherence barriers and their relationship to health determinants among Saudi children on dialysis, to enhance treatment success. We conducted a hospital-based, cross-sectional survey of pediatric dialysis patients using a simple random sampling technique. There is a trend of higher medication adherence for peritoneal dialysis patients compared with hemodialysis patients (36.1 ± 12.9 vs. 34.7 ± 8.3, p = 0.07). The leading barriers to medication adherence for all patients included being tired of taking the medication (score = 3.0256), not feeling like taking the medicine sometimes (score = 2.7436), bad taste (score = 2.5513), and forgetfulness (score = 2.41). Determinants of health were associated with medication adherence. Lack of education (56.4%) (some children underage for school) and chronic disease requirements (16.7%) were common barriers. After adjusting for the common confounders, the adherence scores increased significantly with increasing patient age (β = 2.378, p < 0.001), patients with working parents (β = 8.726, p = 0.011), and those living outside Riyadh (β = 19.198, p < 0.001). Medication adherence among pediatric dialysis patients is influenced by sociodemographic factors, health systems, and access to care. Evidence-based targeted interventions can increase medication adherence in this group on frequent dialysis. Future efforts should utilize systematic frameworks and digital health technologies to provide quality alternatives to improve medication adherence.
Related Concept Videos
01:27Dialysis
Acute kidney injury develops suddenly and can be caused by pre-renal causes (e.g., hypovolemia, shock), intrinsic renal causes (e.g., acute tubular necrosis), or post-renal causes (e.g., urinary obstruction). In contrast, chronic renal failure progresses gradually over time and is often...
01:17Factors Affecting Renal Clearance: Renal Impairment
One condition associated with renal failure is uremia. Uremia is characterized by impaired glomerular filtration and fluid accumulation in the body. This condition hinders the renal clearance of drugs, resulting in drug accumulation and potential...
01:29Factors Affecting Protein-Drug Binding: Patient-Related Factors
Age stands as a key determinant in protein-drug binding. Neonates, characterized by low albumin content, experience heightened concentrations of unbound drugs such as phenytoin and...
01:28Drug Therapy
Antianxiety Medications
01:11Renal Failure: Dose Adjustments
Reduced renal clearance and elimination rate are common outcomes of renal impairment. These alterations lead to a prolonged elimination half-life and an altered apparent volume of distribution for drugs. As a result, dosage adjustments are typically necessary to maintain optimal drug levels in the body.
However, dosage adjustments...
01:15Drug Dosage Regimen: Overview
Typically, the starting dose and dosing interval are guided by the manufacturer's recommendations based on clinical trials conducted during and after drug...