Asthma care and factors affecting medication compliance:: the patient's point of view

Objective. To identify important factors that can influence patient compliance with prescribed medication and to elucidate aspects of asthma care from the patient's point of view. Design. Field investigation; the interviewer used a semi-structured questionnaire. Setting. Patients with asthma in primary health care settings in Sweden. Study participants. A sample of 77 patients was randomly selected from 11 primary health care centres in southern Sweden; 63 of these patients participated in the study. Conclusion. The factors of importance for self-reported compliance with prescribed medication were age, gender, duration of the disease, the attitude of the staff and information/education about asthma. The patients expressed important aspects of care, and these are in accordance with how an asthma nurse practice functions in Sweden.