How can we improve adherence?

33Citations
Citations of this article
124Readers
Mendeley users who have this article in their library.

Abstract

Many patients with wound healing difficulties are also coping with the management of a chronic disease or chronic condition that requires them to make lifestyle behaviour changes, for example, managing glucose levels through diet and exercise and regular foot inspection. Many find it difficult to make such changes and often experience feelings of powerlessness when faced with a lifetime of behavioural and psychological change. This article will explore the importance of understanding the patient difficulties associated with adherence to a regime and how life changes can be difficult to maintain over sustained periods of time. However, the article will also discuss the importance of this topic in trying to understand the clinical evidence base for treatment - as many clinical trials investigating treatments for the diabetic foot do not include information on the extent to which patients in the trial conformed to the trial protocol. The article gives an overview of recent developments - including lessons we can learn from other chronic conditions where permanent life changes are required - in particular the need to keep health messages simple, tailored to the individual and repeated frequently. The evidence to date suggests that no one single form of adherence intervention will work with all patients; this is not surprising given complex and multifactorial nature of adherence and the myriad of barriers that exist that patients and health care professionals need to overcome.

Cite

CITATION STYLE

APA

Price, P. (2016). How can we improve adherence? Diabetes/Metabolism Research and Reviews, 32, 201–205. https://doi.org/10.1002/dmrr.2744

Register to see more suggestions

Mendeley helps you to discover research relevant for your work.

Already have an account?

Save time finding and organizing research with Mendeley

Sign up for free