Medication non-adherence in patients with heart failure: A systematic review

Medication non-adherence is a major cause of hospitalization in heart failure (HF) patients. Studies have reported high rates of non-adherence to treatment in patients with HF. Therefore, this review was conducted to investigate the factors associated with medication non-adherence in patients with HF. This systematic review was conducted based on Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) (2020). All scientific articles in the field of medication non-adherence in HF patients were searched in international databases, such as ISI Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed, Google Scholar, and ScienceDirect. Searches were conducted among the studies conducted from April 2015 to August 2024 using the keywords of medication non-adherence, HF, non-adherence to treatment, adherence to treatment, and medication adherence alone or in combination, and using AND and OR mediations. After evaluating the eligibility criteria and the quality of the articles, 20 articles were classified and analyzed for content. The information resource management software (Endnote 9325 Bld 7.5, X, Reuters Thomson). The articles were descriptive cross-sectional, cohort, and observational. The sampling method was census in 12 articles and convenience in eight other articles. The sample size varied from 72 to 26,439 subjects. In most of the studies reviewed, the rate of medication non-adherence in HF patients was greater than 50%. After reviewing the studies, the factors related to medication non-adherence in HF patients were categorized into three dimensions, including: 1) individual factors, 2) clinical factors, and 3) social support factors. Considering the factors associated with medication non-adherence in patients with HF, it is suggested that governments, physicians, nurses, and workers identify the causes of medication non-adherence in these patients by providing health insurance, training, and free counseling to help the patients solve these problems. In doing so, they will help these patients improve their self-care and medication adherence, thereby improving their quality of life.