Adherence to medicines among immigrants and refugees
Citation: Patel D, Jalal Z, Guo P. Medicine Adherence and Associated Factors in Immigrants and Refugees: A Systematic Review. International Journal of Clinical Practice. 2022;2022:993066.
Language: Abstract and full text available in EN.
Free to view: Yes.
Funding sources: Nothing noted.
What is this? In this systematic review, the authors searched for articles about adherence to medicines among immigrants and refugees aged 18 years or older. They searched in November 2021 for articles published in English since 2000. The authors included 15 studies from the USA (7), Australia (3), Republic of Korea (2), Netherlands (1), Spain (1) and Jordan (1). This systematic review was registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021285419.
What was found: The rate of adherence to medicines ranged from 10.1% to 74.5%. Immigrants and refugees had lower rates of adherence compared with migrant and native groups. Factors that influenced adherence were related to the individual, therapy, healthcare system, health condition, and socioeconomic situation. In particular, cultural behaviours and beliefs about medication played a significant role in adherence.
Implications: The authors of the review were unable to identify the strongest single predictor of medicine adherence. Healthcare professionals should target their advice and interventions to address barriers to medicine adherence. The authors recommended a consistent definition of adherence and a standardised method to measure it. They suggest research to study the impact of nonadherence on clinical outcomes.
Other considerations: The authors of the review discussed their findings in the context of place of residence, race, ethnicity, culture, occupation, education, and socioeconomic status.
This summary was prepared by Riwa Deghaim, checked by Grace Meng, and finalized by William Summerskill.