MEDICINES ADHERENCE

MEDICINES ADHERENCE

1. behaviour

   • rate limiting step between effective treatments and health gain

2. non-adherence

   • ~ 30-50% of medicines prescribed for long-term conditions are not taken as directed
   • big issue for some of the biggest chronic conditions
     • cancer, hiv, heart disease, kidney, diabetes, asthma
   • it is not just limited to a particular 'deviant' group
     • findings of trends in non-adherence are inconsistent
   • varied between patients and in the same patient over time
     • seen as a norm, rather than an exception
   • not necessarily due to complexity of polypharmacy, it is down to how well the treatment fits into the patient's life
   • intentional
     • patients beliefs/ motivation/ preferences
       • perceptual barriers
   • unintentional
     • patients capacity, resources
       • physical barriers

3. patient beliefs

   • necessitu
     • beliefs about personal need for medicine to maintain/improve need for medication
   • concerns
     • arise from beliefs about potential negative effects