| Patient compliance is an important issue in both medical treatment and preventive medicine. Low back pain is a common complaint for which many people seek medical treatment. This study addressed the relationships among low back pain, individual psychological health tendencies, and compliance. A questionnaire was utilized to evaluate 20 individual health tendencies. Two measures were taken: (1) the number of visits the patients kept, and (2) range of motion both before and after treatment. Significant correlations were found between range of motion and the 20 health tendencies and between compliance and the 20 health tendencies. Significant correlations were also found between 9 MHQ scales and compliance, as well as between 6 MHQ subscales and range of motion measurement. Results further support the hypothesis that compensation plays a major role in patients' compliance with medical treatment. The findings of this study also suggest the possible utility of the MHQ questionnaire in predicting patient compliance. |
