COMPLIANCE WITH MEDICATION REGIMENS AMONG CHRONICALLY ILL, INNER CITY PATIENTS

Patient adherence to medication regimens is explored as a function of (1) patient beliefs, perceptions, and knowledge of the illness, (2) extent of social support for health actions, (3) complexity of and specific knowledge about the regimen, and (4) satisfaction with clinical encounters and the health care facility. One hundred and ninety patients receiving care on an outpatient basis at a municipal teaching hospital were interviewed. The patients’ medical records provided an additional data source. Path analysis generally supported the stated hypotheses. The only variables that had a significant effect opposite to that hypothesized were perceived severity about and susceptibility to the illness. The factors with the greatest predictive power in regard to patient compliance were (1) patients’ ability to state the names of or accurately describe their medicines, (2) patients’ ability to state the functions of their drugs, and (3) the complexity of the medication regimen as measured by the number of drugs prescribed for the patient.