Medication beliefs and adherence to antipsychotic medication in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia: The moderating role of doctor–patient communication

Patients with schizophrenia have higher odds of premature mortality than people in the general population. Adherence to antipsychotic medication can prevent relapse and rehospitalisations and is considered a critical component of schizophrenia treatment. Yet, studies examining the factors associated with medication adherence in this patient population in Ghana are limited. This study examined the association between medication beliefs and adherence, and whether the effect of medication beliefs on adherence is contingent on doctor–patient communication. Patients with schizophrenia (N = 117) provided the data for the current analysis. Data were analyzed using hierarchical linear regression. Results showed a significant positive association between medication beliefs (i.e., necessity beliefs) and adherence. Doctor-patient communication was positively associated with adherence. Further, the association between necessity beliefs and medication adherence was found to be contingent on doctor-patient communication. Specifically, the effect of necessity beliefs on medication adherence weakened at high levels of doctor-patient communication. Other results showed that the mean antipsychotic medication adherence score was 16.70 ± 6.51. Moreover, about 89.3% of the patients were accepting their antipsychotic medication (i.e., having low concerns but high necessity beliefs). Findings suggest that necessity beliefs and doctor-patient communication exert similar effects on medication adherence.