Table 1 Descriptive statistics of patient demographics and personal information

Medication adherence history

Have you ever NOT adhered to medication prescriptions?

0.828

   Seldom

383

88.1

675

88.5

   Often

52

12.0

88

11.5

Delayed doses

   No

86

19.8

117

15.3

   Yes

349

80.2

646

84.7

Missed doses

   No

245

56.3

411

53.9

   Yes

190

43.7

352

46.13

Socioeconomic status

Gender

0.574

   Male

211

48.5

383

50.2

   Female

224

51.5

380

49.8

Age (years)

0.085

   20 ~ 34

96

22.1

162

21.2

   35 ~ 49

135

31.0

227

29.8

   50 ~ 64

146

33.6

229

30.0

   ≧ 65

58

13.3

145

19.0

Education level

< .001

   ≧ Elementary

27

6.2

34

4.5

   Junior High School

52

12.0

65

8.5

   High School

89

20.2

275

36.0

   College

91

20.9

151

19.8

   University

135

31.0

179

23.5

   Graduate school or above

41

9.4

59

7.7

Occupation

0.026

   Unemployed

26

6.0

22

2.9

   Military

1

0.2

3

0.4

   Civil servant

45

10.3

57

7.5

   Teacher

33

7.6

49

6.4

   Student

29

6.7

38

5.0

   Housekeeper

60

13.8

103

13.1

   Self-employed

67

15.4

116

15.2

   Medicine

10

2.3

46

6.0

   Retired

33

7.6

78

10.2

   Freelancer

16

3.7

37

4.9

   Services

57

13.1

103

13.5

   Worker

47

10.8

95

12.5

   A.F.F.H.

3

0.7

2

0.3

   Other

8

1.8

14

1.8

Variable

Control group

Intervention group

p-value

N = 435

%

N = 763

%

Average monthly household income

0.025

   ≦ 30,000 NTD

94

21.6

122

16.0

   30,001-60,000 NTD

110

25.3

193

25.3

   60,001-90,000 NTD

93

21.4

152

19.9

   90,001-120,000 NTD

34

7.8

80

10.5

   120,001-150,000 NTD

28

6.4

82

10.8

   ≧ 15,0001 NTD

71

16.3

125

16.4

   Missing data

5

1.2

9

1.2

Marital status

< .001

   Single

108

24.8

178

23.3

   Married

259

59.5

409

53.6

   Divorced/Separated

48

11.0

156

20.5

   Widowed

20

4.6

19

2.5

   Missing data

0

0.0

1

0.1

Living status

0.735

   Live with spouse only

59

13.6

114

14.9

   Live with children only

81

18.6

162

21.2

   Live with spouse and children

138

31.7

225

29.5

   Live alone

42

9.7

71

9.3

   Other

115

26.4

191

25.0

Medical history

   Heart disease

79

18.2

142

18.6

0.847

   Hypertension

120

27.6

197

25.8

0.505

   Dialysis

2

0.5

11

1.4

0.115

   Stroke

51

11.7

45

5.9

0.121

   Peptic ulcer

39

9.0

73

9.6

0.731

   Thyroid disease

42

9.7

36

4.7

< .001

   Chronic kidney disease

9

2.1

13

1.7

0.651

   Hyperlipidemia

16

3.7

32

4.2

0.662

   Diabetes

88

20.2

141

18.5

0.459

   Gynecology disease

3

0.7

8

1.1

0.531

   Asthma/Emphysema

9

2.1

15

2.0

0.903

   Urinary disease

7

1.6

8

1.1

0.401

   Cancer

4

0.9

2

0.3

< .001

   Chronic liver disease

20

4.6

42

5.5

0.496

   Gout

19

4.4

17

2.2

0.037

   Pneumonia

8

1.8

3

0.4

0.012

   Mental or psychiatric disease

14

3.2

11

1.4

0.039

   Immunity disease

3

0.7

12

1.6

0.186

   Others

105

24.1

190

24.9

0.768