These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Beliefs about antidepressant medications in primary care patients: relationship to self-reported adherence.
    Author: Brown C, Battista DR, Bruehlman R, Sereika SS, Thase ME, Dunbar-Jacob J.
    Journal: Med Care; 2005 Dec; 43(12):1203-7. PubMed ID: 16299431.
    Abstract:
    BACKGROUND: Adherence to medication is unacceptably low in both medical and psychiatric disorders. Explanatory models of illness beliefs and behaviors suggest that an individual's beliefs about a disorder and its treatment will influence their adherence. Given that beliefs about medications may influence adherence to antidepressants, we examined beliefs about medications in relation to antidepressant adherence in a primary care sample. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this report is to 1) describe beliefs about medication in primary care patients prescribed antidepressants for depression; 2) examine the factor structure of the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ) and compare it with the previously reported factor structure of the BMQ in medical conditions; and 3) examine the association of medication beliefs with self-reported medication adherence. RESULTS: Factor analysis indicates that the BMQ is valid in a sample of primary care patients receiving treatment for depression and has a similar factor structure to that obtained in samples of patients with chronic medical conditions. Beliefs about medications are significantly associated with self-reported adherence. Severity of depressive symptoms and specific concerns about antidepressants are significantly associated with self-reported medication-taking behavior. Findings suggest that in addition to telling patients how to take their medications, primary care physicians should also educate patients about the short- and long-term effects of the medication, how the medication works, and that antidepressants are not addictive.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]