Non-compliance in general health care

Abstract

An increased interest in non-compliance has been demonstrated by the great number of papers recently published on the subject. A review of the relevant literature shows a pattern emerging of at least one third of clients being non-compliant. This can result in a hazard to health, a waste of health resources and much frustration for practitioners and clients in many areas of health care. There are multiple factors which appear to be related to non-compliance in a complex and interdependent way. These factors can be described under three main headings: the client, the treatment and disorder, and the clinic interactions. Compliance is summarized as the shared responsibility of practitioner and client in a health care partnership. The purpose of this paper is to review the extensive literature on compliance in general health care and to present a set of guidelines for the enhancement of compliance in the form of a general model.