ABSTRACT
Patient adherence to medical conditions has become a topic of intense investigation, producing an enormous amount of research in the last few decades, and has also become an increasingly important aspect of health care. Poor adherence to treatment is well recognised, and significantly contributes to treatment failures in medical interventions. Although the literature has produced a large amount of research, few researchers have tried to define what they mean by adherence, while others have used the terms adherence and compliance interchangeably. In contrast, the term adherence implies a more active, and collaborative involvement of the patient, working together with the clinician in planning and implementing the treatment regimen. The assessment of adherence is a complex task, which requires a creative approach to measure the level of patients’ adherence to treatment. The concept of adherence involves a variety of health-related behaviours, and different measures have been designed to measure adherence.
