title: Factors associated with medication noncompliance in rural elderly hypertensive patients.
abstract: This study sought indicators of patient noncompliance with medications prescribed for hypertension. A sample of 62 elderly, rural hypertensive patients were interviewed regarding demographics, history and knowledge of hypertension, quality of life, the physician-patient relationship, drug use, and side effects encountered. A five-variable composite was able to detect the patients who were defined as noncompliant. The composite included: 1) number of chronic illnesses, 2) perceived amount of time the physician spends with the patient, 3) the patient's household composition, 4) family history of hypertension, 5) and whether hypertension affects work or home activities. More accurate identification of noncompliant patients sets the stage for interventions to improve compliance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, Cleveland, OH 44106-7136, USA.
authors.forename: C G
authors.initials: CG
authors.lastname: McLane
authors.forename: S J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Zyzanski
authors.forename: S A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Flocke
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000959:Antihypertensive Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D006973:Hypertension / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D016312:Treatment Refusal
chemical_list: D000959:Antihypertensive Agents