Background: Patients’ adherence to therapeutic regimes may be influenced by subjective beliefs about chronic conditions. One of the challenges for health professionals in enhancing adherence is taking patients’ understanding into account when giving health advice and/or providing medical treatment. Purpose: This review aimed to evaluate the consequent effects of personal and cultural beliefs on medication adherence, in patients with chronic conditions such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma. Method: A systematic review methodology was used. PubMed, CINAHL, EMBASE and PsychINFO, databases were searched for relevant articles. The main terms analyzed were illness perceptions, health beliefs, cultural beliefs, chronic conditions and medication adherence. Results: From 2,646 articles, 127 were retained for further assessment, and finally 25 met the inclusion criteria. A cross-sectional questionnaire survey research design was conducted in all included articles. Of these most (n=22) targeted hypertension or diabetes mellitus. A number of personal and cultural based factors were identified as being associated with adherence to medication regimes — 40% of articles (n=10) examined perception of illness, 20% (n=5) health literacy, 16% (n=4) cultural beliefs, 12% (n=3) self-efficacy, 16% (n=4) spiritual and religious beliefs, as well as 20% (n=5) illness knowledge. Statistically significant associations between medication adherence and these personal and cultural factors were found in 80% (n=20) of the included studies. However, the direction of associations varied between studies depending on the factor that was examined. Conclusion: This review has evaluated the impact of personal and cultural factors on medication adherence and highlighted the gaps in literature regarding adherence. Further research is required to fully identify the associations between religious beliefs, control beliefs and illness knowledge and medication adherence.

Background: Medication adherence is a primary determinant of treatment success in hypertensive patients. One of the challenges for healthcare providers that has received little attention is the impact of patients’ social supports on medication adherence. Objective: This review evaluates the impact of patients’ social supports on medication adherence in hypertensive patients. Methods: A systematic review methodology was used. Pubmed, CINAHL, Embase, and PsycINFO databases were searched systematically for relevant articles. The outcome measure in the studies was medication adherence in hypertension. Results: From 1155 articles, 238 were retained for further assessment, and finally, 14 met the inclusion criteria. Statistically significant positive associations between medication adherence and social support were found in nine studies (p<0.05). Conclusions: This review evaluated the impact of social support on medication adherence and highlighted gaps in the literature regarding the impact of social support on adherence. Family members or peer support may promote better adherence in some patient groups. This review suggests that healthcare providers may need to consider whether patients have appropriate social supports in place which will assist them adhering to and benefiting from treatment recommendations.

Objective: To evaluate beliefs, and attitudes about health of refugees with chronic conditions such as diabetes mellitus type 2, hypertension, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and posttraumatic stress disorder and the consequent effects on self-care in comparison to resident populations. Design: A systematic review methodology was used. PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO and CINAHL databases were searched for relevant articles. The main terms analysed were health beliefs, chronic conditions and refugee populations. From 844 articles, 45 were retained for further assessment, and finally 5 met the inclusion criteria. Results: Differences in the health beliefs, attitudes and self-care management approaches of refugees compared to resident populations were identified in two studies. The remaining three papers did not make comparisons between the refugees and the resident population, nor did they specifically explore the refugees’ health beliefs. Of the five studies, three were carried out in Sweden and two in the US. Refugees who have poorer mental and physical health as well as higher prevalence of chronic diseases than the populations among which they resettle seem to lack the knowledge about their illness, symptoms and self-management and thus are less able to control their chronic conditions. Conclusion: The findings highlighted the deficiency in the literature of studies which examine health beliefs and attitudes of minority groups such as refugees who have chronic conditions. The findings also gave insight to the need for a distinctive understanding of refugee health and the management of chronic conditions in comparison to other non-refugee migrant groups. Further research is needed to fully understand the differences between refugees and local populations in terms health beliefs, chronic disease and self-management.

(1) Background: Medication adherence is a key determinant of patient health outcomes in chronic illnesses. However, adherence to long-term therapy remains poor. General beliefs about medicine are considered factors influencing medication adherence. It is essential to address the gap in the literature regarding understanding the impact of general beliefs about medicine on medication adherence to promote adherence in chronic illnesses. (2) Methods: PubMed, CINHAL, and EMBASE databases were searched. Studies were included if they examined medication beliefs using the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire in one of four chronic illnesses: hypertension, diabetes, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and/or asthma. (3) Results: From 1799 articles obtained by the search, only 11 met the inclusion criteria. Hypertension and diabetes represented 91% of included studies, while asthma represented 9%. Higher medication adherence was associated with negative general medication beliefs; 65% of the included studies found a negative association between harm beliefs and adherence, while 30% of studies found a negative association with overuse beliefs. (4) Conclusions: This review evaluated the impact of harm and overuse beliefs about medicines on medication adherence, highlighting the gap in literature regarding the impact of harm and overuse beliefs on adherence. Further research is needed to fully identify the association between general beliefs and medication adherence in people with different cultural backgrounds, and to explore these beliefs in patients diagnosed with chronic illnesses, particularly asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Healthcare providers need to be aware of the impact of patients’ cultural backgrounds on general medication beliefs and adherence.

Illness perceptions may vary between different populations. This raises the question as to whether refugees and migrants of the same ethnic background have different perceptions. Understanding differences may have a significant impact on enhancing medication adherence in these groups. The study examined the associations and differences between illness perceptions, and medication adherence in hypertensive Middle Eastern migrants and refugees. Middle Eastern refugees and migrants (≥30 years old), with hypertension were recruited from Arabic community groups in Australia and asked to complete a cross-sectional survey. The survey consisted of basic socio-demographic and clinical profile, self-reported illness perceptions, and self-reported medication adherence. The outcome measure was the Medication Adherence Questionnaire. Simple mediation modelling was applied to examine the role of illness perceptions as a mediator between different migration statuses, and medication adherence. A total of 320 participants were recruited; 168 refugees, and 152 migrants. Educational level was found to be positively significantly associated with medication adherence in refugees, p = 0.003, while employed migrants were more likely to report higher adherence to hypertensive medication, p = 0.005. In both groups, there was a significant association between illness perceptions and medication adherence p = 0.0001. Significant differences were found between both groups regarding adherence and illness perceptions variables. Refugees had more negative illness perceptions and were less adherent than migrants. Illness perception was a mediator in the relationship between migration status and medication adherence; the unstandardized indirect effect was 0.24, and the 95% confidence interval ranged from (0.21–0.36). To achieve better adherence to medications in vulnerable populations such as refugees, illness perceptions need to be understood, and differentiated from other populations, such as migrants from similar backgrounds. Patients’ education about illnesses and medications should be specific and targeted to each population. Interventional studies are recommended to modify refugees’ and migrants’ illness perceptions, to enhance medication adherence and wellbeing.

Purpose: The study assessed the association between medication beliefs and adherence in Middle Eastern refugees and migrants in Australia, and also examined differences between the two groups regarding beliefs and adherence to medication. Patients and Methods: A total of 319 Middle Eastern refugees and migrants with hypertension were approached via various social groups in Australia and asked to complete Arabic versions of the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire (BMQ) and the Medication Adherence Questionnaire. BMQ scores (necessity and concerns scales) were classified as “accepting”, “indifferent”, “ambivalent” or “skeptical”. Multiple mediation modelling was applied to examine the role of necessity and concerns scales as mediators between migration status and medication adherence. Results: There were significant associations between medication adherence and medication beliefs scores (necessity and concerns scales) (p=0.0001). Necessity and concern were mediators in the relationship between migration status and medication adherence. Significant differences were found between refugees and migrants for medication adherence and medication beliefs. Refugees were likely to have less necessity, and more concern beliefs than migrants, and were also less likely to adhere to medications. Almost 30% of refugees could be classified as skeptical and 40% as ambivalent. In contrast, 50% of migrants had accepting beliefs, and around 35% held ambivalent beliefs. Refugees and migrants with “accepting” beliefs reported the highest adherence to medication and those holding “skeptical” beliefs reported the lowest adherence. Conclusion: Medication beliefs are potentially modifiable and are reasonable targets for clinical interventions designed to improve medication adherence. Understanding these beliefs and the likely differences between refugees and migrants is crucial to provide specific and targeted advice to each group independently in order to improve medication adherence and overall health.