Factors Associated with Medication Non-Compliance in Patients with schizophrenia: A Cross-sectional Study in Peshawar

Introduction: Medication Compliance is the cornerstone for the treatment or prevention of relapse in schizophrenia. This study focuses on assessing the frequency and factors that affect medication non-compliance in patients with schizophrenia in Peshawar. Methods: We conducted this cross-sectional study in a psychiatrist clinic in Peshawar between November 2022 and May 2023. The data of 146 patients with schizophrenia patients, was collected by a pre-tested questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were applied to determine frequency and a chi-square test was used to determine the association between factors affecting medication non-compliance. Results: Out of 146 participants in our study, 115 (78.8%) patients with schizophrenia were found to be non-compliant with their medication regimen. Marital status was a key factor with 84.4% of married patients being non-compliant (p = 0.022). Follow-up visits with prescribing physicians showed significant results with 98.1% of patients who did not follow up being non-compliant (p = 0.00). Key factors associated with medication non-compliance included good response to treatment (57.4%), medication cost (48.7%), and lack of proper counseling on medication usage by physicians (73.9%). Conclusions: Our study concludes that medication non-compliance in patients with schizophrenia patients is a significant challenge in KPK province of Pakistan. Being married, not following up with a prescribing physician, good response to treatment, medication cost, unavailability of medication in the market and lack of proper counseling about medication use were the key factors highlighted in our study.