Public Health Commons^™

Improving Patient Adherence: A Look At Causal Knowledge, Treatment Credibility, And Treatment Expectancy, Kyra L. Mackenzie

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Lack of patient adherence to Cardiac Rehabilitation programs is a commonly reported problem (Bryne, Walsh, & Murphy, 2005) and is associated with increased morbidity and re-hospitalization rates (Platt, Green, Jayasinghe, & Morrissey, 2014). Factors that can increase the perceived credibility and expectancy of a treatment program predict better adherence (Nock, Ferriter, & Holmberg, 2007). A better understanding of a treatment rationale may improve treatment credibility and expectancy. For this study, causal knowledge is examined as a way to increase understanding because it has been shown to increase acquisition and retention of novel medical information (Goldszmidt, Minda, Devantier, Skye, & Woods, …