The aim of this study was to validate a French translation of the structured self-report 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8) and determine its psychometric properties in patients taking antihypertensive medication. An observational cross-sectional study was conducted in the hypertensive unit of a French university hospital. The MMAS-8 was translated according to international guidelines. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach α coefficient, construct validity using principal component and confirmatory factor analyses, and the test-retest reliability at 1-month interval using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Three levels of adherence were considered (low: scores of 0 to <6; medium: 6 to <8; high: 8) and risk factors were explored in ordinal logistic regression models. A total of 199 patients were included: mean age, 55.7±14.6 years, 57.3% men (114 of 199), and 39.5% (66 of 167) had uncontrolled blood pressure. The French MMAS was moderately reliable (α=0.54), one-dimensional, and reproducible (ICC=0.68). The mean score was 6.96 (standard deviation 1.25) and 17.6% (35 of 199), 37.7% (75 of 199), and 43.7% (87 of 199) of patients had low, medium, and high adherence, respectively. The only factor significantly associated with adherence was age. The French MMAS has acceptable psychometric effects to measure medication adherence in hypertensive patients and may be useful in detecting nonadherent hypertensive patients.
© 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.