A grounded theory of patient medication noncompliance in men diagnosed with hypertension

Although research regarding patient noncompliance has increased, no consensus has emerged regarding the superiority of any theory, model, or tool to understand the causes of noncompliant behavior. The purpose of this qualitative, grounded theory study was to use inductive analysis to discover a theory of noncompliance that explains medication noncompliance. Research questions examined respondents' perceptions, beliefs, and attitudes towards their medical care; their relationship with their health care provider; and how these factors affected their behavior (taking medications). Twenty five men, ages 30-50 years, who were clinically diagnosed with hypertension and were not regularly taking their medication, participated in the interviews. Semistructured interviews were completed with the men, and open, axial, and selective coding were used to identify emergent themes and patterns in the data. Results showed that noncompliance is not a unitary phenomenon but rather reflects a variety of cognitive and emotional influences. Financial instability, provider trust, and locus of control for medication compliance were concepts that emerged to explain noncompliance. It is recommended that the emergent model be tested in larger samples as well as among those with other health conditions. Implications for social change include improved provider education on factors related to noncompliance, improved communication between patients and health care providers, heightened trust, and recognition that improving compliance is a mutual responsibility of patients and providers. Implications for social change also include improved compliance which can lead to better physical health as well as decreased health care costs for individuals suffering from health conditions.