Compliance therapy: an intervention to improve inpatients' attitudes toward treatment

Nonadherence to prescription medication is the leading cause of relapse or recurrence of psychotic illness. Literature has shown that compliance therapy, a brief intervention based on motivational interviewing and cognitive approaches, can lead to improved attitudes, adherence to treatment, and insight. This descriptive study aimed to examine the effectiveness of compliance therapy on treatment adherence. The 69 participants were patients of the same ward, either referred for patient education by the psychiatrist or selected from a convenience sample of patients on the clinical pathway of relapsed schizophrenia or major depression. Compliance therapy was conducted individually or in small groups of 2 to 3 patients. The shortened version of the Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI-10), along with a rating scale adapted from another study, was used to measure attitude and the rate of adherence before and after therapy. Patients in both individual and group sessions showed significant improvements in attitude. Those with six or more admissions had slightly less significant improvement, and those with personality disorder or substance abuse showed no significant improvement. Compliance therapy benefits patients and improves their attitude toward treatment. Psychiatric nurses could be trained in this clinical intervention to enable them to conduct compliance therapy in the hospital or in the community.