Shehu et al., JOBASFUD_2024_3_1_001
Keywords: Caregivers, knowledge, mental illness, medication adherence, patients.
2024-07-09 DOI: JOBASFUD_2024_3_1_001
Background: Patients must begin therapy and continue to take their prescriptions at the appropriate times to exhibit adherence to antipsychotics, which is a complicated and dynamic behaviour. Patients and society's quality of life may be greatly enhanced by adherence to treatment. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between patients with mental illness and their caregivers' sociodemographic traits, degree of understanding about mental illness and medication adherence in Jigawa State, Nigeria. Methods: A quasi-experimental design was used in this study. Using a multistage sampling technique, 260 individuals with mental illness and their caregivers were recruited for the study from psychiatric facilities in Jigawa State. The study was then separated into two groups, 130 patients in each group: the experimental and the control group. A semi-structured questionnaire was the instrument utilized during and after the data collection. All ethical considerations were obtained. Results: Only about one third of the study participants have educational status of non-formal in both the experimental and the control group. More than half of the study participants in both groups were females. In terms of ethnicity and tribe, Hausa and Muslims constitute majority of the study population with most of them being housewives. Following the application of logistic regression analysis, the study participants' educational status, cost of treatment and family history were found to be the significant predictors of good knowledge regarding mental illness and medication adherence. Conclusion: There is a correlation between the caregivers' knowledge of mental illness, medication adherence, their ethnic group, religion and monthly income.