Using Local Data on Adults Aged 18 to 64 to Tailor Interventions for Blood Pressure Medication Adherence in Maine

PEER REVIEWED

A static map of the State of Maine is divided into census tracts and counties with locations of registered pharmacies marked. Census tracts indicate population density (census tract population divided by land area in square miles and indicated as the number of people aged 18 to 64 per tract: 0–4.9, 5.0–99.9, 100.0–199.9, 200.0–999.9, and 1,000.0–18,057.9). Counties with significantly lower blood pressure medication adherence rates than the highest county rate (York County) are indicated (Androscoggin, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Penobscot, and Waldo counties). Pharmacy locations are displayed to show where the health department could partner with pharmacies in areas with low blood pressure medication adherence and tailor an intervention on the basis of population density. Population density of northern and eastern Maine is lower than that of the rest of the state. Pharmacy density is greatest in southern Maine and in the largest Maine towns, regardless of their geographic location. Enlarged inset maps of Lewiston–Auburn and Bangor show 2 large cities in counties with significantly lower blood pressure medication adherence. Within the small geographic area of these 2 cities, population density of their census tracts falls into 4 categories (5.0–99.9, 100.0–199.9, 200.0–999.9, and 1,000.0–18,057.9).

Maine licensed pharmacy locations, blood pressure medication adherence rates, and population density in 2018. Medication adherence in 2015 among Maine adults aged 18 to 64, calculated for renin–angiotensin system antagonists by using the proportion-of-days-covered method, was 83.8% (95% confidence interval, 83.4%­–84.1%). York County had the highest adherence rate (85.2%; 95% confidence interval, 84.3%–86.0%). Counties with medication adherence rates significantly lower than the York County rate indicate where to focus interventions. Adult census tract–level population density for 2012 through 2016 indicates where to implement rural-specific interventions.

Return to Article

Top