medication adherence and perception of satisfaction in the healthcare of children with mental disorders

Background: medication non-adherence among children with mental disorders (md) is frequent. objectives: this research examines the association between medication adherence (ma) in children with md and the perception of satisfaction with the healthcare received. methods: a cross-sectional, descriptive, and analytical study was carried out; the survey method was applied to 800 participants who attended from january 2018 to january 2020 at two children's psychiatric hospitals in mexico city. the morisky-green test was applied. moreover, the patient's perception of their improvement and the reasons for their satisfaction were investigated. a spearman's correlation analysis was performed between adherence and variables on the patient's perception of improvement. results: sample of 400 dyads (400 children and their 400 caregivers), children's sample included 63% boys (n = 252). the most prevalent diagnoses were hyperkinetic disorder, with 51% and 34% with depression. of the sample, 27% adhered to pharmacological treatment. statistically significant positive correlations were found between adherence and perception of improvement with the functioning variable (rs = 0.550, p < 0.001, and improvement with quality of life (rs = 0.206, p < 0.001). conclusions: adherence to treatment in children is related to satisfaction in care, and satisfaction is directly related to improvement in functionality and quality of care.