Rev. Saúde Pública 2012;46(2):279-289

The Brief Medication Questionnaire and Morisky-Green Test to evaluate medication adherence

DOI: 10.1590/S0034-89102012005000013

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the reliability and performance of the Portuguese version of questionnaires used to evaluate adherence to hypertensive treatment. METHODS: Hypertensive patients attending a primary healthcare unit in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, from January to September 2010, were randomly selected (n = 206). To evaluate adherence, Portuguese versions of the Morisky-Green test (MGT) and the Brief Medication Questionnaire (BMQ) were used. The analysis considered internal consistency, temporal stability and performance compared to three gold standards, which are: inadequate control of blood pressure (BP > 140/90 mmHg); insufficient rate of medication acquisition at the institution’s pharmacy ( 0.001. Low adherence per the BMQ is associated with higher blood pressure levels when compared to adherent patients (148.4 [SD 20.1] vs 128.8 [SD 17.8]; p <0.001), but not for the MGT. CONCLUSIONS: The BMQ showed better performance than the MGT, with greater sensitivity and specificity. Evaluation of adherence may help clinicians discriminate between inadequate use of medication and insufficient treatment regimen.