Psychometric properties of a short self-reported measure of medication adherence among patients with hypertension treated in a busy clinical setting in Korea.
BACKGROUND
We examined the psychometric properties of the Korean version of the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) among adults with hypertension.


METHODS
A total of 373 adults with hypertension were given face-to-face interviews in 2 cardiology clinics at 2 large teaching hospitals in Seoul, South Korea. Blood pressure was measured twice, and medical records were reviewed. About one-third of the participants (n = 109) were randomly selected for a 2-week test-retest evaluation of reliability via telephone interview.


RESULTS
Internal consistency reliability was moderate (Cronbach α = 0.56), and test-retest reliability was excellent (intraclass correlation = 0.91; P < 0.001), although a ceiling effect was detected. The correlation of MMAS-8 scores with scores for the original 4-item scale indicated that convergent validity was good (r = 0.92; P < 0.01). A low MMAS-8 score was significantly associated with poor blood pressure control (χ(2) = 29.86; P < 0.001; adjusted odds ratio = 5.08; 95% CI, 2.56-10.08). Using a cut-off point of 6, sensitivity and specificity were 64.3% and 72.9%, respectively. Exploratory factor analysis identified 3 dimensions of the scale, with poor fit for the 1-dimensional construct using confirmatory factory analysis.


CONCLUSIONS
The MMAS-8 had satisfactory reliability and validity and thus might be suitable for assessment and counseling regarding medication adherence among adults with hypertension in a busy clinical setting in Korea.
Division of Chronic Disease Control, Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Jeung-Hee
JH
Kim
Weon-Young
WY
Lee
Yeon-Pyo
YP
Hong
Wang-Seong
WS
Ryu
Kwang Je
KJ
Lee
Wang-Soo
WS
Lee
Donald E
DE
Morisky
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005163:Factor Analysis, Statistical; D005260:Female; D006785:Hospitals, University; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy*; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D011594:Psychometrics; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D056910:Republic of Korea; D057566:Self Report; D016903:Drug Monitoring
D000959:Antihypertensive Agents