https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8779-1041
Abstract
Objective
To investigate the correlation between patients’ medication adherence and their psychological contract with hospital pharmacists under the background of the pharmacist–patient relationship, providing a reference for improving the pharmacist–patient relationship and the patients’ medication adherence based on the patients’ psychological contract with the hospital pharmacists.
Materials and Methods
Some of the patients who received medication dispensing service at the outpatient pharmacies at the First Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University and the Second Affiliated Hospital of Zunyi Medical University were included and investigated as follows: 320 patients were included through the convenient sampling method for psychological contract and medication adherence questionnaire survey with the self-designed scales for patients’ psychological contract with the hospital pharmacists and their medication adherence. SPSS 17.0 was used for reliability and validity testing, correlation analysis, and multiple linear regression analysis.
Results
The average score of the psychological contract was 3.80±0.59. The average score of the patients’ medication adherence was 2.93±0.70. The patients’ psychological contract with the pharmacists and its dimensions (the responsibility of competence, the responsibility of service, and the responsibility of humanistic care) were positively correlated with medication adherence (P<0.05). The results of the multiple linear regression analysis showed that the effect of patients’ psychological contract with the pharmacists on medication adherence was statistically significant (P<0.05).
Conclusion
Outpatients’ psychological contract with the pharmacists is positively correlated with their medication adherence. Maintaining the patients’ psychological contract with the pharmacists may be an effective way to improve medication adherence.
Ethical Approval
The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zunyi Medical University, China (ZMCER2018-1-153) and conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Through the explanation letter at the front of the questionnaire and the explanation work at the investigation site, all the patients involved in the investigation clearly understood the purpose of the study. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous. Written or verbal informed consent was obtained (Most of the participants provided written informed consents, and only a small part of participants who cannot read or write provided verbal informed consents, which was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of Zunyi Medical University).
Acknowledgments
This work was financially supported by Guizhou Provincial and Municipal Science and Technology Cooperation Special Project [No. 53, Provincial and Municipal Science and Technology Cooperation (2015)] and the Key Discipline of Zunyi Medical University in Clinical Pharmacy (4009403-0000014). We thank all the patients, who generously participated in the research, and all the pharmacists who took part in the research.
Disclosure
The authors report no conflicts of interest in this work.