| The purpose of the present study was to investigate factors related to treatment adherence among a sample of asthma patients and test the utility of a widely used psychological model of behavior prediction when applied to that sample. The current work examined treatment adherence (as defined as attendance at a clinic appointment given following a visit to the Emergency Department) for adults with asthma. The proposed model variables were based on The Theory of Planned Behavior. Results did not support previous findings in the literature concerning a relationship between years of education, knowledge of illness, number living in household, previous Emergency Department visits for asthma, illness severity, employment, and marital status among others. The only component of the Theory of Planned Behavior that proved to be a significant predictor of the outcome measure was perceived behavioral control. This finding is consistent with some previous research indicating that perceived behavioral control carries more weight in some clinical and screening behaviors than intention. |
