Tony Cassidy
Background: Belief innon-medical remedies such as ‘folk’ cures and faith healing are likely to impact on patients’ relationship with health care, and one area of particular current interest is adherence to medication. Aim: The aim was to explore the impact of such beliefs and patients’ satisfaction with healthcare on self-reported adherence to medication. Method: A survey using questionnaire measures assessed 766 participants (326 males and 440 females) ranging in age from 18-69 years. Results: Results showed that self-reported adherence was significantly correlated with satisfaction with medical interviews but when the individual dimensions of satisfaction were explored it was distress relief and rapport rather than communication that accounted for the variance. Intention to use non-medical treatments was correlated with self-reported non-adherence and was the single significant predictor from multiple regression analysis. Conclusions: It was concluded that cultural beliefs related to non-medical treatments are intricately linked to patients’ interaction with health care. The existence of such beliefs needs to be fully integrated into an analysis of health and illness behaviours, particularly in regard to adherence to medication.
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Journal of General Practice received 952 citations as per Google Scholar report
