title: Mental health clinicians' beliefs about medicines, attitudes, and expectations of improved medication adherence in patients.
abstract: Nonadherence to antipsychotic medications remains a major factor in poor clinical outcomes. This study sought to identify clinician beliefs about patients who do not adhere to treatment, the clinicians' own beliefs about medicines, and the impact of beliefs on efforts to enhance patient adherence. In total, 292 clinicians responded to an anonymous questionnaire that included questions about their beliefs and their efforts to enhance adherence. Results indicated that clinicians' beliefs about their own adequacy to enhance adherence significantly predicted actual efforts to enhance adherence. Both pessimism about outcomes and empathy for the patient predicted outcome expectancy. It was concluded that enhancing clinicians' beliefs about working with nonadherent patients is a potentially important ingredient in efforts to improve patient adherence.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522 Australia. mbyrne@uow.edu.au
authors.forename: Mitchell K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Byrne
authors.forename: Frank P
authors.initials: FP
authors.lastname: Deane
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caputi
mesh_terms: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D055118:Medication Adherence / Q000523:psychology*; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy
chemical_list: D014150:Antipsychotic Agents