ABSTRACT
Background: Around 2/3rd of patients with schizophrenia do not receive long-term appropriate treatment and have 2-3 times higher risk of early death. There are several factors which affects medication adherence especially during covid period. Our aim was to estimate the prevalence and factors affecting medication non-adherence in patients with schizophrenia during the period of covid pandemic. Materials and methods: It was a cross-sectional observational study done in 82 patients with schizophrenia. Socio-demographic and clinical details were collected. Details pertaining to medication non-adherence during covid were collected using semi-structured proforma. Medication adherence was assessed using Morisky Medication Adherence Scale 4 (MMAS 4) and treatment compliance in last 6 months was collected from patient case records. Results: Our study showed 63% patients with medication non-adherence. Patients from semi-urban and rural background, with residence far from psychiatric facility and non-availability of transport were found to be at more risk of developing medication non-adherence, which were considered as economical factors related to non-adherence. Conclusion: 63% of patients had increased medication non-adherence during covid period. Our findings underline the fact that treatment non-adherence maybe further affected by economy related factors during covid period.