Factors Related to Patients' Adherence to Medication and Lifestyle Change Recommendations: Data from Canada

Annabel Levesque,Jasrit S. Pahal,Han Z. Li

doi:10.5539/ijps.v4n2p42

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors related to patients' adherence to prescribed medications andrecommended lifestyle changes. Two hundred and ninety-eight adults from a northern Canadian communityfilled out a questionnaire. Several intriguing findings emerged: (a) Adherence to lifestyle changes andparticipants' age presented a U-shape relationship; (b) Those who perceived themselves to be in poor health wereless likely than those in good health to adhere to lifestyle changes; (c) Barriers such as the severe winter weather,lack of transportation, and cost of medications contributed negatively to adherence; and (d) If doctors providedsufficient information on the benefits and use of the prescribed medications and the proposed lifestyle changesand if patients reported trusting their doctors, they tended to adhere more. Physicians can play an important rolein promoting adherence among patients. Community health workers should make efforts in reducing barriers thatinterfere with patient adherence.

Highlights

IntroductionNonadherence to doctors’ recommendations remains a major health-care issue (Lehane & McCarthy, 2007)
Despite decades of research, nonadherence to doctors’ recommendations remains a major health-care issue (Lehane & McCarthy, 2007)
Several intriguing findings emerged: (a) Adherence to lifestyle changes and participants' age presented a U-shape relationship; (b) Those who perceived themselves to be in poor health were less likely than those in good health to adhere to lifestyle changes; (c) Barriers such as the severe winter weather, lack of transportation, and cost of medications contributed negatively to adherence; and (d) If doctors provided sufficient information on the benefits and use of the prescribed medications and the proposed lifestyle changes and if patients reported trusting their doctors, they tended to adhere more

Summary

Introduction

Nonadherence to doctors’ recommendations remains a major health-care issue (Lehane & McCarthy, 2007). Researchers estimate that 50% of patients do not adhere to medication regimens prescribed by their doctors (Haynes, McDonald & Garg, 2002; Sackett & Snow, 1979) and the rate of nonadherence to lifestyle change recommendations is even higher (DiMatteo, 1994; Haynes et al, 2002; Kaplan & Simon, 1990). Higher hospital admission rates resulting from nonadherence increase the cost of medical care (Bondesson, Hellström, Eriksson & Höglund, 2009; Cutrona et al, 2010). Participants failing to adhere to treatment regimens can compromise the results of clinical trials (Arbuthnott & Sharpe, 2009; Sleator, 1985)

Objectives

Results

Conclusion