Compliance to Mothers' Instructions with Medical Treatment

Abstract Atopic dermatitis is a chronic skin disease with unknown etiology and high incidence in childhood. Although the response of following medical recommendations is an important behavior to control the symptoms, there are high rate responses of nonfollowing prescriptions, described as noncompliance. This study evaluated, in a brief direct assessment, the control exerted by direct and indirect instructions, verbalized by mothers, in compliance with medical treatment. Four girls, ages 9, 12, 13 and 14, diagnosed with atopic dermatitis and theirs mothers. They were scheduled outpatients at the dermatology department of a tertiary university hospital. The behavioral assessment was conducted according to a brief multielement experimental design in three phases. The use of direct instructions increased the probability of compliance behaviors, especially when associated with physical guide and praise. The results of this study can be important to identify the most important variables in the treatment of children with atopic dermatitis and to develop group or individual intervention programs