Relationship between medication beliefs and drug compliance among patients with chronic diseases

Context. Non-compliance to treatment among chronic diseases is one of the main obstacle for therapeutic efficacy. Aim. To explore the relationship between patients' beliefs about their treatment and compliance, among patients with chronic diseases in a primary care setting. Methods. A transversal study was conducted in general practitioners' offices in the French department of Puy-de-Dome. Data were gathered by self-reported questionnaires among patients taking daily treatment for more than a year for a chronic disease. Compliance was assessed with the Compliance Evaluation Test (CET) and patients' beliefs with the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). Results. Among 265 patients, 108 (40.8 %) declared a good compliance to treatment. Thirty-one (11.7 %) patients perceived a benefit-risk balance against their treatment, which was related to bad compliance (p = 0.004). Patient self-reporting "concerns" (p = 0.01), "harm" (p = 0.04) or "overuse" (p = 0.03) about their treatment were less likely to be compliant. Conclusion. This study showed the relationship between compliance and patients' beliefs about their medication. The BMQ could be used to identify patients at risk of bad compliance, and help health professionals for diagnosis of bad compliance and patient education.