[Assessment of therapeutic adherence using questionnaires in patients with schizophrenia]

Continuous antipsychotic therapy is an essential part of treatment in schizophrenia and discontinuation increases the risk of psychotic relapses. Therapeutic adherence is a parameter influenced by multiple factors (affecting the doctor, the patient and his relatives), and its extent is determined by the interaction of these factors. The aim of this study was to identify factors which affect the schizophrenic patient's willingness to adhere to a treatment.

A survey was conducted using a self-rated questionnaire about compliance. Patients with schizophrenia, their relatives and their attending doctors filled out the questionnaires. Subjects were invited to participate from all over Hungary in order to make the sample as representative as possible.

909 patients with schizophrenia, 73 doctors and 423 patient's relatives participated in this study. 41% of patients acknowledged that sometimes they decide voluntarily not to follow the instructions, while their doctors think that this rate is 57%. Almost half of the patients (42%) forget to take the medication, or they miss it because of other cognitive dysfunctions. In the opinion of doctors (49%) and relatives (55%) this problem affects more patients.

It is imperative to improve adherence to treatment in patients with schizophrenia because missing a dose is a frequent problem even in those showing partial adherence and because such instances of non-adherence can have serious health consequences.