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The History and Meaning of Patient Compliance as an Ideology

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Handbook of Health Behavior Research II

Abstract

Patient compliance with regimens may be one of the most studied and least understood behavioral issues in medicine. Medical compliance was defined in the late 1970s as “the extent to which the patient’s behavior (in terms of taking medications, following diets, or executing other lifestyle changes) coincides with medical or health advice” (Haynes, 1979). That definition continues to predominate almost two decades later. Virtually any North American medical journal published since the mid-1970s contains advertisements proclaiming that a particular product’s simple dosage or low level of side effects will increase patient compliance. These proclamations are frequently used to advertise treatments for common chronic conditions such as arthritis, diabetes, and hypertension. Nevertheless, studies estimate that about half of the people who have chronic conditions like these are noncompliant with their medication regimens (Sackett & Snow, 1979).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Five College Medical Anthropology Program, Mount Holyoke College, South Hadley, Massachusetts, 01075, USA

    James A. Trostle

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  1. James A. Trostle
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Kent School of Social Work, University of Louisville, Louisville, Kentucky, 40292, USA

    David S. Gochman

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© 1997 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Trostle, J.A. (1997). The History and Meaning of Patient Compliance as an Ideology. In: Gochman, D.S. (eds) Handbook of Health Behavior Research II. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1760-7_6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1760-7_6

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-1762-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-1760-7

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