ADHERENCE TO TREATMENT – REVIEWING METHODS OF ASSESSMENT AND IMPROVEMENT

Abstract

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), adherence is considered “the extent to which a person’s behaviour – taking medication, following a diet, and/or executing lifestyle changes corresponds with agreed recommendations from a health care provider”. Adherence rates average 50% in countries such as the United States, exerting important pressure on health systems. Factors which influence medication adherence can be related to the patient, the clinical conditions, therapy, socioeconomic factors and the healthcare system. Methods of adherence assessment are direct and indirect. While direct methods measure a certain drug or metabolite in body fluids of patients, indirect methods refer to self-report measures, pill count, electronic monitoring devices, electronic databases. The continuous growth of worldwide mobile phone use makes mHealth an important tool for both evaluating as well as improving adherence.