| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2015 | Volume
: 1
| Issue : 1 | Page : 13-15 |
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Relationships between Adherence to Medication, Patients' Beliefs and Demographic Factors
Aziz Kamran1, Aliakbar Shekarchi1, Davar Kazemi1, Mohammad Taghi Savadpour2
1 Department of Public Health, Khalkhal Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
2 Department of Nursing, Khalkhal Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil, Iran
Correspondence Address:
Mohammad Taghi Savadpour
Department of Nursing, Khalkhal Faculty of Medical Sciences, Ardabil University of Medical Sciences, Ardabil
Iran
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
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Introduction: Patients' adherence to medication has an important role in controlling the disease and is the key to treatment success; however, the situation of patients' adherence to medication is not optimal and despite the importance of the issue, little research has been conducted in Iran to investigate the factors influencing it. Objective: This study focuses on determining the relationships between adherence to medication, patients' beliefs and some demographic factors in patients with chronic diseases. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 200 patients with a chronic disease in the hospitals and clinics in the Khalkhal city in the year 2014. Data were collected through interviews by questionnaires of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale and the Beliefs about Medication Questionnaire and were analyzed using the SPSS software (version 18) through Chi-square test and Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Results: Findings showed that 42.5% of the participants were male and the rest were female (57.5%) with an average age of 33 ± 13.7. Nineteen percentage of the participants specified that they had no problem taking their medication as directed; but, 58.5% of the patients usually discontinued their medications after feeling better. Concerning the demographic factors, the level of education had a significant relationship with drug discontinuation without counseling a doctor, the feeling of being worse by medication use was significantly higher in male patients and no significant relationship was observed between adherence to medication and age. The results also indicated a significant relationship between adherence to medication and patients' medication beliefs. Conclusions: Regardless of the type of the disease, patients with more positive beliefs about medication had higher adherence to medications as well; therefore, identifying the factors influencing patients' medication beliefs can improve their medication adherence and controlling of the disease. |
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