Is Beliefs About Medication a Factor in Adherence to the Medicine in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angioplasty?

There are some side effects such as the restenosis of the coronary artery resulted from the failure to follow the medication regimen. Considering that patients" beliefs have a great role in their lifestyle, this study aimed at investigating the relationship between beliefs in medication and self-reported medication adherence in patients with coronary angioplasty (CA).

This was a descriptive cross-sectional correlational study. Based on the inclusion criteria, qualified participants were chosen from among the patients who referred to heart specialty hospital using a convenience sampling method. The applied questionnaire in this study included three sections encompassing the demographic information, a 5-item Medication Adherence Questionnaire (MARS), and BMQ-S questionnaire containing two aspects of "necessity" and "concerns about taking medications".

The mean of participants" age was 56.99 (SD=12.80) and the majority of the participants were males (78.7%), married (89.3%), and mostly illiterate (30.7%). The study results showed that 70% (n=105) of the participants had a weak medication adherence. The results of the Pearson correlation demonstrated a statistically significant relationship between the beliefs in medication and adherence to it.

After CA, nurses and family members can pave the way for the patients to adhere to medication by influencing their beliefs