Almost half of patients with COPD do not adhere to their medications. Illness and medication beliefs are important determinants of adherence in other chronic diseases. Using the framework of the Common Sense Model of Self Regulation (CSM), we determined associations between potentially modifiable beliefs and adherence to COPD medications in a cohort of English- and Spanish-speaking adults with COPD from New York and Chicago. Medication adherence was assessed using the Medication Adherence Report Scale. Illness and medication beliefs along CSM domains were evaluated using the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) and the Beliefs about Medications Questionnaire (BMQ). Unadjusted analysis (with Cohen’s d effect sizes) and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the relationship between illness and medication beliefs with adherence. The study included 188 participants (47% Black, 13% Hispanics); 109 (58%) were adherent. Non-adherent participants were younger (p<0.001), more likely to be Black or Hispanic (p=0.001), to have reported low income (p=0.02), and had fewer years of formal education (p=0.002). In unadjusted comparisons, non-adherent participants reported being more concerned about their COPD (p=0.011; Cohen’s d=0.43), more emotionally affected by the disease (p=0.001; Cohen’s d=0.54), and had greater concerns about COPD medications (p<0.001, Cohen’s d=0.81). In adjusted analyses, concerns about COPD medications independently predicted non-adherence (odds ratio: 0.52, 95% confidence interval: 0.36–0.75). In this cohort of urban minority adults, concerns about medications were associated with non-adherence. Future work should explore interventions to influence patient adherence by addressing concerns about the safety profile and long-term effects of COPD medications.

BackgroundLow health literacy is associated with low adherence to self-management in many chronic diseases. Additionally, health beliefs are thought to be determinants of self-management behaviors. In this study we sought to determine the association, if any, of health literacy and health beliefs among elderly individuals with COPD.MethodsWe enrolled a cohort of patients with COPD from two academic urban settings in New York, NY and Chicago, IL. Health literacy was measured using the Short Test of Functional Health Literacy in Adults. Using the framework of the Self-Regulation Model, illness and medication beliefs were measured with the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire (B-IPQ) and Beliefs about Medications Questionnaire (BMQ). Unadjusted analyses, with corresponding Cohen’s d effect sizes, and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the relationships between HL and illness and medication beliefs.ResultsWe enrolled 235 participants, 29% of whom had low health literacy. Patients with low health literacy were more likely to belong to a racial minority group (p<0.001), not be married (p = 0.006), and to have lower income (p<0.001) or education (p<0.001). In unadjusted analyses, patients with low health literacy were less likely to believe they will always have COPD (p = 0.003, Cohen’s d = 0.42), and were more likely to be concerned about their illness ((p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.17). In analyses adjusted for sociodemographic factors and other health beliefs, patients with low health literacy were less likely to believe that they will always have COPD (odds ratio [OR]: 0.78, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.65–0.94). In addition, the association of low health literacy with expressed concern about medications remained significant (OR: 1.20, 95% CI: 1.05–1.37) though the association of low health literacy with belief in the necessity of medications was no longer significant (OR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.82–1.04).ConclusionsIn this cohort of urban individuals with COPD, low health literacy was prevalent, and associated with illness beliefs that predict decreased adherence. Our results suggest that targeted strategies to address low health literacy and related illness and medications beliefs might improve COPD medication adherence and other self-management behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Empirical research and health policies on asthma have focused on children and young adults, even though asthma morbidity and mortality are higher among older asthmatics. OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of asthmarelated beliefs and self-reported controller medication adherence in older asthmatics. DESIGN: An observational study of asthma beliefs and self-management among older adults. PARTICIPANTS: Asthmatics ages ≥60 years (N=324, mean age 67.4±6.8, 28 % white, 32 % black, 30 % Hispanic) were recruited from primary care practices in New York City and Chicago. MAIN MEASURES: Self-reported controller medication adherence was assessed using the Medication Adherence Report Scale. Based on the Common Sense Model of Self-Regulation, patients were asked if they believe they only have asthma with symptoms, their physician can cure their asthma, and if their asthma will persist. Beliefs on the benefit, necessity and concerns of treatment use were also assessed. Multivariate logistic regression was used to examine the association of beliefs with self-reported medication adherence. KEY RESULTS: The majority (57.0 %) of patients reported poor adherence. Poor self-reported adherence was more common among those with erroneous beliefs about asthma illness and treatments, including the "no symptoms, no asthma" belief (58.7 % vs. 31.7 %, respectively, p<0.001), "will not always have asthma" belief (34.8 % vs. 12.5 %, p<0.001), and the "MD can cure asthma" belief (21.7 % vs. 9.6 %, p=0.01). Adjusting for illness beliefs, treatment beliefs and demographics, patients with a "no symptoms, no asthma" belief had lower odds of having good self-reported adherence CONCLUSIONS: Illness and treatment beliefs have a strong influence on self-reported medication adherence in older asthmatics. Interventions to improve medication adherence in older asthmatics by modifying illness and treatment beliefs warrant study.

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Among older patients with asthma, interventions to promote proper medication use should simplify tasks and patient roles to overcome cognitive load and suboptimal performance in self-care.