The Relation between Psychotic Patients' Strength of Religious Faith and Adherence to Medication

Medication non-adherence is often a predominant
a complicated multifactorial issue among patients with
psychotic disorders. Religion often affects positively
or adversely on individuals' psychological well-being.
Religious factors can play a significant influence in
determining engagement and adherence to treatment
recommendations. Aim: The current study wished-for exploring the relation between psychotic patients' strength of
religious faith and adherence to medication. Subjects and Method: A descriptive correlational design was used,
which was conducted in outpatient's clinic at Port Said Psychiatric Health and Addiction Treatment Hospital, Egypt.
The studied subjects compromised a sample of 159 patients diagnosed with psychotic disorders. Tools: 1) Morisky
Medication Adherence Scale, 2) Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire. In addition to Personal and
Clinical Data Questionnaire were used. Results: The studied patients' strength of religious faith mean score was
30.91 ± 5.98. More than two thirds of them displayed a low adherence level to their prescribed medication.
Conclusion: It was verified that, no statistically signifificant correlation was established between religious faith and
medication adherence among the studied psychotic patients, by means of the strength of religious faith was not
among aspects that influences the psychotic patients' adherence to medication. Recommendations: Planning and
implementing psycho-therapeutic interventions for psychotic patients to increase the levels of adherence to their
treatment regimen utilizing motivational interviewing, and cognitive behavioral approaches. Besides, further studies
must be carried out to disclose the factors that contribute to non-adherence to treatment regimen among psychotic
patients