Self-reported questionnaires for assessment adherence to treatment in patients with cardiovascular diseases

Introduction: The treatment of acute coronary syndromes, besides coronary interventions, includes pharmaco-therapy and lifestyle changes, which together determine a favourable prognosis. Adherence to treatment is a term describing a patient’s behaviour in respect to the patient’s maintenance of the health care provider’s recommendations. Unfortunately, according to WHO data, adherence to long-term therapies for chronic illnesses in developed countries averages only 50%. Covered areas: Our study focused on available questionnaires for adherence assessment in everyday practice. A comprehensive search of data bases was conducted using appropriate keywords. Out of an initially identified 2081 citations, 93 articles were considered eligible for further analysis. Eventually, nine adherence scales were identified and reviewed. Expert opinion: There is no so-called “gold standard survey” allowing accurate assessment of every patient for medication adherence. The use of a specific scale must be justified by its validation in a similar group of patients in well designed and properly conducted studies