title: Patient-identified barriers to asthma treatment adherence: responses to interviews, focus groups, and questionnaires.
abstract: This article reviews 32 patient-interview studies that revealed that the most common barriers to adherence revealed by patients included concerns about drug safety and cost and a belief that the patient's asthma was not severe enough to require daily treatment. Important but less commonly cited concerns included worry about dependence or diminished effectiveness with long-term use of the medication. Children and their parents expressed concerns about safety, dependence, peer stigmatization, and parent-child conflict over taking medication. Low-income and minority patients cited similar concerns and barriers that included cost, difficulty of obtaining medication, daily life hassles, and a general distrust of the medical establishment. The information obtained from patients' perspectives indicates the need to reappraise current strategies for the management of asthma, including a more flexible approach to the use of expert guidelines for the treatment of asthma.
authors.affiliation: Division of Pediatric Behavioral Health, National Jewish Medical and Research Center, 1400 Jackson Street, Denver, CO 80206, USA. benserb@njc.org
authors.forename: Bruce G
authors.initials: BG
authors.lastname: Bender
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Bender
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000188:drug therapy*; D001993:Bronchodilator Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D002648:Child; D016527:Drug Costs; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008913:Minority Groups; D010349:Patient Compliance; D010379:Peer Group; D012449:Safety; D012720:Severity of Illness Index
chemical_list: D001993:Bronchodilator Agents