Objectives: To assess self-reported adherence among pharmacy clients and to detect if there are any differences in medication use or storage between genders.
Material and methods: The data were collected by means of questionnaires. A standard 45-item questionnaire was developed and used to assess adherence and nonadherence to medications. It was distributed to all pharmacy customers who entered pharmacies chosen by us.
Results: Of the 162 (45 men and 117 women) pharmacy clients participating in the study, 36.42% were considered nonadherent. No significant difference in adherence rates between genders was observed (P>0.05). Women more often named themselves as being responsible for a medicine cabinet at home (P<0.001) and used more sources of information on medications (P<0.05). Women also more frequently checked the expiry date of medications in a medicine cabinet home than men (P<0.05).
Conclusions: The problem of nonadherence to medications exists among pharmacy clients. There is no significant difference in the rate of self-reported adherence between male and female pharmacy clients. Women are the ones named as responsible for a medicine cabinet at home. They also are important health decision makers. Women are more interested in information on medicines and their use; therefore, this demand should be satisfied.