Locus of control and field dependence in prediction

Is patient empowerment the key to promote adherence? A systematic review of the relationship between self-efficacy, health locus of control and medication adherence

Background

Current health policies emphasize the need for an equitable doctor-patient relationship, and this requires a certain level of patient empowerment. However, a systematic review of the empirical evidence on how empowerment affects medication adherence—the extent to which patients follow the physician’s prescription of medication intake—is still missing. The goal of this systematic review is to sum up current state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the relationship between patient empowerment and medication adherence across medical conditions. As our conceptualization defines health locus of control and self-efficacy as being crucial components of empowerment, we explored the relationship between these two constructs and medication adherence.

Methods

Relevant studies were retrieved through a comprehensive search of Medline and PsychINFO databases (1967 to 2017). In total, 4903 publications were identified. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment, 154 articles were deemed relevant. Peer-reviewed articles, written in English, addressing the relationship between empowerment (predictor) and medication adherence (outcome) were included.

Findings

High levels of self-efficacy and Internal Health Locus of Control are consistently found to promote medication adherence. External control dimensions were found to have mainly negative (Chance and God attributed control beliefs) or ambiguous (Powerful others attributed control beliefs) links to adherence, except for Doctor Health Locus of Control which had a positive association with medication adherence. To fully capture how health locus of control dimensions influence medication adherence, the interaction between the sub-dimensions and the attitudinal symmetry between the doctor and patient, regarding the patient’s control over the disease management, can provide promising new alternatives.

Discussion

The beneficial effect of patients’ high internal and concurrent physician-attributed control beliefs suggests that a so-called “joint empowerment” approach can be suitable in order to foster medication adherence, enabling us to address the question of control as a versatile component in the doctor-patient relationship.

Preoperative patient education for open-heart patients: a source of anxiety?

OBJECTIVE

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of preoperative patient education on anxiety and recovery of the Lebanese patients undergoing open-heart surgery.

METHODS

This quasi-experimental study was conducted at a large hospital in Beirut, which is a university hospital. All patients who were admitted to the cardiac surgery unit and who met the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to as experimental or a control group. The patients in the experimental group (n = 57) received a special educational session on their admission day and had a tour of the cardiac surgery unit. The control group (n = 53) followed the routine hospital protocol, which encompassed almost no preoperative education or a tour. Anxiety was assessed using the Beck Anxiety Inventory while recovery was measured by physiological outcomes, days of hospital stay, and presence of complications. A Multivariate Analysis of Covariance (MANCOVA) was performed with adjustment for potential confounding variables.

RESULTS

Borderline statistical significance was noted for the experimental group in terms of preoperative and postoperative anxiety. The experimental group had a shorter time from awakening to extubation.

CONCLUSION

Unlike most studies published previously, which noted the benefits of preoperative patient education, this study with the Lebanese clients, failed to support earlier findings.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

The results suggest that patient education should not be initiated before assessing the patient's cultural and social background.