Can We Improve Patient Adherence by Harnessing Social Forces?

Excerpt

Much of the management of chronic illnesses occurs outside of the health care system. Self-management—i.e., patient’s ability to manage his or her treatment, lifestyle changes, and psychosocial effects of an illness—improves patients’ quality of life and overall prognosis. It is common for patients and their family members or friends to partner around pharmacological and non-pharmacological tasks, a partnership that is generally beneficial to patients. Recent estimates indicate that 50–75% of patients with HF or diabetes have a family member who is regularly involved in their health care,¹ and patients with low health literacy and greater illness burden are more likely to involve a family member.² …