C3: : Stress and rational non-adherence

Question 1

How can stress affect non-adherence to medical advice?

Answer 1

: Stress can affect non-adherence in four ways: poverty, chaotic lifestyles, narrowed attention, and memory interference.

Question 2

How does poverty contribute to non-adherence?

Answer 2

“Non-adherence is worse in lower socioeconomic groups due to financial barriers, as seen in studies on diabetes medication (Mayberry et al., 2015).

Question 3

How are chaotic lifestyles related to non-adherence?

Answer 3

Stress from chaotic lifestyles can make individuals forget to take medication or follow medical advice, as they struggle with disorganisation.

Question 4

How does stress affect a person’s attention during medical advice?

Answer 4

Stressed clients become anxious, narrowing their attention. They may ignore important positive information and focus on distressing keywords (e.g., “cancer”).

Question 5

What is rational non-adherence?

Answer 5

Rational non-adherence occurs when clients deliberately choose not to follow medical advice based on a logical cost-benefit analysis.

Question 6

What are the main costs identified in a cost-benefit analysis of medical adherence?

Answer 6

: The main costs are side effects, financial barriers, and the patient-practitioner relationship.

Question 7

How do financial barriers affect adherence?

Answer 7

. People may not adhere to medical advice if they cannot afford it, especially in countries without free healthcare or in cases without insurance coverage (Laba et al. 2012).

Question 8

How does the patient-practitioner relationship affect non-adherence?

Answer 8

A practitioner-centred approach, where the practitioner has all the power, is more likely to result in non-adherence compared to a client-centred, personal approach.