Synonyms
Definition
Adherence is a term used to describe the extent to which an individual’s behavior coincides with health-related instructions or recommendations given by a health-care provider in the context of a specific disease or disorder. The term has been used extensively in psychology and medicine in reference to acute, chronic, and preventive treatment regimens (e.g., a course of prescribed medication, wound self-care), preventive health screenings, dietary restriction, exercise recommendations, smoking cessation, and other health behaviors. Although adherence is synonymous with compliance in many contexts, the former is often preferred by behavioral scientists and allied health professionals given its emphasis of patient-provider collaboration as opposed to a more authoritarian, provider-centered exchange.
Description
Extent and Implications of Nonadherence
Despite significant advances in biomedical science related to the treatment of disease, the problem...
References and Further Readings
Bayer, R., & Wilkinson, D. (1995) Directly observed therapy for tuberculosis: History of an idea. Lancet, 345, 1545–8.
Christensen, A. J. (2004). Patient adherence to medical treatment regimens: Bridging the gap between behavioral science and biomedicine. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Christensen, A. J., Howren, M. B., Hillis, S. L., Kaboli, P., Carter, B. L., et al. (2010). Patient and physician beliefs about control over health: Association of symmetrical beliefs with medication regimen adherence. Journal of General Internal Medicine, 25, 397–402.
DiMatteo, M. R. (2004). Variations in patients’ adherence to medical recommendations: A quantitative review of 50 years of research. Medical Care, 42, 200–209.
DiMatteo, M. R., Giordani, P. J., Lepper, H. S., & Croghan, T. W. (2002). Patient adherence and medical treatment outcomes: A meta-analysis. Medical Care, 40, 794–811.
Dunbar-Jacob, J., & Schlenk, E. (2001). Patient adherence to treatment regimen. In A. Baum, T. A. Revenson, & J. E. Singer (Eds.), Handbook of health psychology (pp. 571–580). Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Eisenthal, S., Emery, R., Lazare, A., & Udin, H. (1979). “Adherence” and the negotiated approach to patienthood. Archives of General Psychiatry, 36, 393–398.
Haynes, R. B., Ackloo, E., Sahota, N., McDonald, H. P., & Yao, X. (2008). Interventions for enhancing medication adherence. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2), Article CD000011. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD000011.pub3.
Howren, M.B., Cozad, A.J., & Christensen, A.J. The interactive effects of patient control beliefs on adherence to fluid-intake restrictions in hemodialysis: Results from a randomized controlled trial. J Health Psychology. Online ahead of print DOI: 10.1177/1359105316631813.
Howren, M. B., Van Lieuw, J. R., & Christensen, A. J. (2013). Advances in patient adherence to medical treatment regimens: The emerging role of technology in adherence monitoring and management. Social & Personality Psychology Compass – Health Series, 7, 427–443.
Kardas, P., Lewek, P., & Matyjaszczyk, M. (2013). Determinants of patient adherence: A review of systematic reviews. Frontiers in Pharmacology, 4, 91.
Mathes, T., Jaschinski, T., & Pieper, D. (2014). Adherence influencing factors: A systematic review of systematic reviews. Archives of Public Health, 72, 37.
Steiner, J. F., & Prochazka, A. V. (1997). The assessment of refill compliance using pharmacy records: Methods, validity, and applications. Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 50, 105–116.
Stone, A. A., Turkkan, J., Jobe, J., Kurtzman, H., & Cain, V. (2000). The science of self-report. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum.
Van Dulmen, S., Sluijs, E., Van Dijk, L., De Ridder, D., Heerdink, R., & Bensing, J. (2007). Patient adherence to treatment: A review of reviews. BMC Health Services Research, 7, 55.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer Science+Business Media LLC
About this entry
Cite this entry
Howren, M.B. (2016). Adherence. In: Gellman, M., Turner, J. (eds) Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1203-2
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6439-6_1203-2
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Online ISBN: 978-1-4614-6439-6
eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine