• Sandra Burge, Darryl White, Ellen Bajorek, Oralia Bazaldua, Juan Trevino, Theresa Albright, Frank Wright, and Leo Cigarroa.
• Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78220, USA. burge@uthscsa.edu
• Fam Med. 2005 Nov 1; 37 (10): 712-8.

BackgroundMedication adherence is a complex phenomenon, influenced by a variety of factors. Most adherence research focuses on one medicine and does not represent the realities of clinical family medicine. This analysis examined factors associated with medication knowledge and adherence in family medicine patients with chronic conditions.MethodsThe Residency Research Network of South Texas (RRNeST) enrolled 150 patients with chronic disease who "sometimes have trouble taking medicines." Seventy-five percent were Latinos. This cross-sectional analysis used baseline survey data from an intervention study. Investigators correlated medication knowledge and adherence with known predictors--patient, health, medication, economic, and physician factors. New variables related to patients' motivation to change treatment behaviors ("importance" and "confidence") were also included.ResultsLinear regression analysis demonstrated that patient satisfaction, education level, and confidence were associated with better medication knowledge. Higher confidence, Spanish language, better functional and health status, and more prescription medicines were correlated with medication adherence.ConclusionsWe recommend that family physicians enhance medication adherence by providing good information about treatment and counseling strategies to build patients' confidence. Our findings suggest that poor health status can be a barrier to, rather than a motivator for, treatment adherence.

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