A national cross-sectional study has highlighted significant disparity between Māori and non-Māori in medication adherence for heart failure. The study included 13,743 assessments for older community-dwelling adults with heart failure, including 1526 in Māori, between 2012 and 2019. Mean participant age was 74.5 years for Māori and 82.3 years for non-Māori. A total of 21.8% of those in the Māori cohort did not adhere fully to their medication regimen, compared with 12.8% of those in the non-Māori cohort. The adjusted prevalence ratio for medication non-adherence in Māori vs non-Māori was 1.53 (95% CI 1.36-1.73). The study authors noted that their results are transferable to other countries, allowing the identification of underserved ethnic groups for which culturally appropriate interventions can be targeted.
