title: Psychometric evaluation of a Korean version of the 8-item Medication Adherence Scale in rural older adults with hypertension.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine the psychometric properties of a structured self-reported 8-item Korean-version Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-K) among rural older adults with hypertension.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional descriptive survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  A rural community comprising three primary health care posts in Gangwon Province, South Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  Ninety-two older adults with hypertension who received treatment at primary health care posts.
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants completed an 8-item MMAS-K questionnaire, and the community health practitioners manually measured blood pressure. Factor analysis and correlation coefficient for validity and the Kuder-Richardson alpha coefficient for reliability of the MMAS-K were used, while the association between medication adherence and blood pressure control was determined using Fisher's exact test.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Internal consistency reliability was acceptable with a coefficient alpha of 0.71. The factor analysis of construct validity identified two dimensions of the 8-item MMAS-K, explaining 52.22% of the total variance. There was a high correlation between the 8-item MMAS-K and the original 4-item MMAS (r = 0.874), indicating that these scales measure theoretically related constructs for convergent validity. There was a significant association between the 8-item MMAS-K score and blood pressure control (P < 0.05), indicating that, for the known-groups validity, the controlled blood pressure group was more likely to have higher rate of medication adherence than the poor-control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings indicate a positive association between medication adherence and blood pressure control. The 8-item MMAS-K possesses adequate validity and reliability among rural older adults with hypertension.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nursing, Hallym University, Chunchon, South Korea.
authors.forename: Dong-Soo
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Shin
authors.forename: Chun-Ja
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D011594:Psychometrics; D056910:Republic of Korea; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*
keywords: chronic disease; international health; management of hypertension; psychometrics; rural nursing