Addressing the elephant in the room: a possible new way to increase patient adherence to medical advice

Figures & data

Table 1 Assessment of responses to main rationale for health care priorities

Question number	Question phrases	Sample mean*	95% confidence interval		N=1,637
			Lower bound	Upper bound
1	Prioritizing waiting lists for surgery
1a	Patients with severe illness are treated first	0.7442	0.7169	0.7714	271
1b	Patients with severe illness are treated first resulting in longer waiting for one in your family	0.7596	0.7329	0.7864	285
1c	Patients with severe illness are treated first resulting in longer waiting for yourself	0.7600	0.7341	0.7860	266
1d	Those who benefit most from treatment are prioritized	0.5226	0.4877	0.5576	265
1e	Those who benefit most from treatment are prioritized resulting in longer waiting for one in your family	0.5560	0.5208	0.5912	277
1f	Those who benefit most from treatment are prioritized resulting in longer waiting for yourself	0.5818	0.5465	0.6171	273

Notes: Questions 1a–f are used to assess beliefs on health care system priorities. All questions are answered using a 7-point Likert scale. Results are based on positive attitude regarding wording in the question.

* Sample mean positive to wording in phrase.

Table 2 Assessment of patient adherence

Question number	Question phrases	Sample mean*	95% confidence interval		N=1,626
			Lower bound	Upper bound
2	Treatment rejection
2a	Medical doctor denies treatment	0.5009	0.4774	0.5245	539
2b	Medical expertise does not approve the treatment**	0.5361	0.5117	0.5604	564
2c	Medical expertise and patient organization agree on not approving the treatment**	0.5730	0.5478	0.5982	523

Notes: Questions 2a–c are used to assess aspects of potential new ways to increase patient adherence. All questions are answered using a 7-point Likert scale. Result is based on positive attitude regarding wording in the question.

* Sample mean positive to wording in the phrase.

** Question phrases refer to how the physician explains to the patient why the treatment is rejected.