Prevalence and predictors of sub-optimal medication adherence among patients with severe mental illnesses in a tertiary psychiatric facility in Maiduguri, North-eastern Nigeria.

Introduction: Sub-optimal adherence constitutes a significant impediment to the management of severe mental illnesses (SMIs) as it negatively impacts on the course of the illness and the treatment outcome. In this study, the levels of adherence, prevalence and the predictors of sub-optimal adherence were assessed in a sub-Saharan African setting.

Methods: Three hundred and seventy (370) respondents with diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression were randomly enrolled and interviewed at the out-patient department of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital, Maiduguri in northeastern Nigeria.