Semester
Spring
Date of Graduation
1999
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Type
MS
College
School of Pharmacy
Department
Pharmaceutical Systems and Policy
Abstract
Purpose. To investigate the relationship of disease severity, health beliefs, and medication adherence among HIV/AIDS patients.;Results. Seventy-two HIV patients were enrolled. There were no significant differences in patients' perceived severity of HIV/AIDS and perceptions of benefits and barriers of the treatment across three disease stages. However, patients who had greater experience with the disease (stage C) perceived a higher risk to develop complications if they were not adherent compared to asymptomatic patients (stage A). Results also revealed that patients in stage B and C were more adherent to their medications compared to patients in stage A when regimen complexity was controlled. Finally, perceived susceptibility-inaction was positively related to medication adherence and difficulty in following doctors' instructions was negatively related to adherence.;Implications. Patients' medication taking behaviors can be improved by targeting issues specific to the individual patient and helping patients understand the negative consequences of poor adherence.
Recommended Citation
Gao, Xin, "The relationship of disease severity, health beliefs, and medication adherence among HIV patients" (1999). Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD). 1054.
https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1054