Evaluation of the adherence by patients treated in a psychosocial ambulatory care setting in northeastern Brazil

In the treatment of the mental disorders, the lack of adherenceto the pharmacotherapy is observed in about 50% of people and is responsible lot more morbidity, besides being the main cause of psychiatric morbidity and rehospitalization. This work sought to evaluate the adherenceto the medical treatment frompatients attended in a Primary Health Care Center in the municipal district of Aracaju – Sergipe. For that, an exploratory, descriptive and observational studywas accomplished, with transversal design, in the period from August 2011 to November 2011, carried outthrough interview applications. This research finds that more than 55% of the sample hadlow education; 41.4% were single and 42.8% presented other health problems, besides the mental disorder. Regarding to the knowledge level on the used medications, this variable presented good results, since 60% of the patients were classified in the category “know well”. Likewise, the results revealed that 49.3% of the investigated patients did not adhere to treatment, having as main causes of non-adherence the forgetfulness (53%), the lack of the medication in the health units (47%) or the lack of financial resources for the purchase of the medication (45%) – all these were considered as unintentional causes of non-adherence. Anyway it is an unpublished study in the outpatient attention context in Mental Health in the State, the results are expected to contribute for the evaluation and planning actions in the specialized component of the Pharmaceutical Assistance and in the precepts invigoration perspective of the psychiatric reform, focusing on the full approach of the attention towards the mental health and the rational use of psychotropic medicines.