Medication Adherence Status and Influencing Factors in Adolescent Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Background: This study investigated medication adherence and related factors in adolescent kidney transplant recipients receiving immunosuppressive drugs.

Methods: Between February and October 2023, 115 adolescent kidney transplant recipients were selected through convenience sampling from follow-up centers in four Chinese tertiary hospitals. The study assessed medication adherence and influencing factors via a general information questionnaire, an adherence assessment scale, a medication belief scale, and an overall happiness scale.

Results: The average medication adherence score was 4.98 ± 2.32 points, with 60.08% (76/115) showing poor adherence. Five of these patients experienced graft failure, resulting in a 6.5% failure rate. No cases of graft failure occurred in those with excellent compliance. Univariate analysis revealed no significant differences in adherence based on sex, age, income, or education (p > 0.05). However, statistically significant differences in medication adherence were observed based on rejection reactions and infections (p < 0.01). Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that higher perceived medication necessity and overall happiness scores were correlated with better adherence (p < 0.05). Linear regression revealed that post-transplant rejection, infections, perceived medication necessity, and overall happiness significantly impacted adherence (p < 0.05).

Conclusion: The high prevalence of poor medication adherence among adolescent kidney transplant recipients highlights the importance for healthcare professionals to focus on monitoring significant post-transplant complications, improving recipients' understanding of the necessity of their medications, and evaluating their overall psychological well-being. Introducing an effective early warning system during home follow-up periods can enable timely interventions to improve medication adherence.