Impact of patient counselling on perception and medication adherence of hypertensive patients with chronic kidney disease

Chronic Kidney Disease is a progressive and irreversible loss of renal function. The purpose of the study was to understand how patient counselling affects patient perception, and medication adherence and to identify the risk factors of medication non-adherence. A Cross-sectional prospective study was done among 109 hypertensive patients with Chronic Kidney Disease for 6 months. All study participants were interviewed to obtain detailed socio-demographic and medical data. Patient counselling was provided in two sessions. Patients were asked to fill out the Knowledge, Attitude, Practice questionnaire, and the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale -8 pre and post counselling. Patient information leaflets were provided at the end of the eighth week. The study results show that in the mean Knowledge, Attitude, Practice score, there was a significant increase in total knowledge from a baseline of 0.79±0.77 to 1.22±0.69 at the end of the fourth week and 1.57±0.54 at the end of the eighth week. The mean adherence was improved from 0.38±0.55 to 0.67±0.67 to 1.10±0.57, indicating a significant improvement in medication adherence with continuous patient counselling. The most common reason for non-adherence was forgetfulness. Poor adherence to treatment and lack of knowledge remains a major obstacle in the management of Chronic Kidney Disease patients. Hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disorders remain the leading causes of Chronic Kidney Disease.