Adherence to Treatment in Patients with Chronic Diseases: From Alertness to Persistence

• Main Authors: Ella Danielson, Christina Melin-Johansson, Mahnaz Modanloo
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Shiraz University of Medical Sciences 2019-10-01
• Series: International Journal of Community Based Nursing and Midwifery
• Subjects: chronic disease; qualitative research; treatment adherence
• Online Access: http://ijcbnm.sums.ac.ir/article_45559_2bc4eb281e8427a64b16d52ab28f63e7.pdf
• ISSN: 2322-2476; 2322-4835

Background: Adherence to treatment is a process that begins with alertness about the disease and has<br />to end with staying in treatment. It is a concern to all health care disciplines. The aim of this study was<br />to explore the experience of adherence to treatment patients with chronic diseases.<br />Methods: This qualitative study was conducted during a period of 6 months in Golestan province in<br />Iran in 2017. In-depth semi-structured interviews were done with a purposive sample of 15 patients<br />with chronic disease (i.e. Chronic renal failure (CRF), Hypertension (HTN), Multiple sclerosis (MS)<br />and Diabetes). Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis in MAXQDA Software.<br />Results: The analysis of the data in this study led to the development of ten subthemes and four<br />themes emerged as follows: motivation, cohesion, commitment and empowerment which are necessary<br />components for adherence to treatment in patients. “Moving from alertness to persistence” emerged<br />as the main theme.<br />Conclusion: The findings of the study offer helpful insights into the concept of adherence to treatment<br />and its components for health care providers, which can be used to develop the best possible care plan<br />and may help health care providers to support the patients to have an active role for following treatment<br />rather than just doing it.