Prescription medication non-compliance: A mixed methods study

This mixed methods study examined whether an elderly individual's value of health and the framing of an educational brochure focused on prescription medication compliance impact one's intentions to be compliant with prescription medications. Participants' compliance was measured pre- and post-intervention of either a positively or negatively framed brochure. Results indicated framing of the brochures had no overall impact on compliance when examining the group as a whole. Interviews with participants revealed their points of reference were those of extremely positive, active, healthy and prescription compliant individuals. Thus, the brochures were unsuccessful at heightening the overall groups' perceived risk of non-compliance. Although there was no significant overall improvement in prescription medication compliance post-intervention, improvements were observed in participants' perceived ability to maintain a medication compliance schedule, to maintain their health by taking control of it, and increased confidence they could work well with their doctor as a team after exposure to the positively framed brochure. When the population was stratified by value of health, improvements were noted in compliance of less healthy participants while declines were noted in healthier participants. Future research might include longitudinal studies exploring the impact of the elderly's value of health and framing of brochures on medication compliance as well as studies using behavioral theory. Additionally, researchers might examine how the presence/absence of a social support network impacts prescription medication compliance. Future research using a different site might provide a broader, more diverse population where issues of reference point, health value, and compliance could be examined.