Exploring the relationship between health beliefs and medication adherence in individuals with asthma

Abstract

Aim: To better understand medication-taking behaviour in asthma, the present study aimed to investigate how beliefs about medicines, illness perceptions and locus of control beliefs are related to each other and with medication adherence. Method: Cross-sectional data was collected from a convenience sample of 113 adults with asthma recruited from community pharmacies and through advertisement on the National Asthma Organisation website. Participants completed a survey of validated questionnaires (Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire, Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Multi-Health Locus of Control Scale and Medication Adherence Report Scale) to elicit health beliefs and medication adherence. Results: Medication adherence was associated with few concerns about asthma medicines (r=-0.26, p=0.01), good understanding of asthma (r=0.26, p=0.009) and a strong belief in the doctor to control their asthma (r=0.44, p=<0.001). Illness perceptions and locus of control beliefs were also related to beliefs about medicines. Discussion: This study suggests that beliefs about medicines, illness perceptions and locus of control beliefs play an important role in adherence decisions in asthma.Our next step is to further investigate the relationship between these beliefs and how they impact adherence.