Turkish Validation Study Of Morisky 8-Item Medication Adherence Questionnaire (Mmas-8) In Patients With Asthma And Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease

Introduction: Chronic diseases are the major causes of death in the world, and chronic respiratory diseases are important public health problems in our country due to theirhigh mortality and morbidity rates. Adherence to medication is an important issue in the treatment of these diseases. Morisky-8 item medication adherence questionnaire is one of the most widely used instruments for this purpose in the world. This study aimed to validate this scale in Turkish patients.Materials and Methods: Turkish translation of Morisky-8 item scale consisted forward translation to Turkish, Turkish linguistic controls, back translation into English, English linguistic controls, and reporting of the process by the physician. Then, Turkish version of the scale was applied to the patients, and evaluated whether the patients understand the questions accurately. Fifty nine patients were included in this study, whomwere consulted in Gazi University Faculty of Medicine Department of Chest Diseases, and met the inclusion criteria.Results: Mean ages of patients with asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were 46.2 +/- 15.1 and 64.0 +/- 12.1 years, and duration of these diseases were 96.5 +/- 102.3 and 66.2 +/- 71.5 months, respectively. Patients had similar lengths of drug use. There was no significant differences for responses between groups, but two patients misunderstood two questions, and the remaining questions understood well by the patients. Medication adherence was 74.2% in patients with asthma, and 46.4% in patients with COPD.Conclusion: Turkish version of Morisky-8 scale was shown to be a reliable tool for determining the medication adherence in patients with asthma and COPD.