Week13, Health promotion and communication. Psychology - Research Paper Example

Week 13 5. Yes, I remember my experience of not complying with my medical treatment once. I was suffering from influenza worsened with malaria. I went to the health professional who admitted me to the hospital and started the treatment. He did not tell me what I was suffering from nor did he take my informed consent about the treatment. He did not tell me how long would the treatment continue. The drugs were also expensive and I was not informed about the cost. In short, there was lack of communication between the health professional and I and this led me to non-comply with the treatment process.

I thought of some herbal remedies that my grandparents used to practice. I took discharge-on-demand from the hospital and came home. This experience of mine resulted from my health professional’s non-considerate attitude. It is crucial for a physician to talk to his patient to make him feel at ease, tell him about the disease, consult with him about the treatment process, inform him about the cost and importance of the medicine, and make him feel participating in the decision-making process (Barkway 2009; Lyons & Chamberlain 2006).

An opposite attitude leads to patient non-compliance. When the patient feels that his feeling and emotions are being ignored, he unconsciously decides not to adhere to the treatment process (Falvo 2010:250). Fincham (2007:64) states that, “Prescribing without making an effort to understand the relationship between noncompliance and the high cost of drugs leads to noncompliance”, and this was another reason why I did not comply with my drug course. ReferencesBarkway, P 2009, Psychology for Health Professionals, Elsevier, Australia. Falvo, D.R 2010, Effective Patient Education: A Guide to Increased Adherence, Jones & Bartlett Learning, USA.

Fincham, J.E 2007, Patient Compliance with Medications: Issues and Opportunities, USA: Routledge. Lyons & Chamberlain 2006, Health Psychology: A Critical Introduction, Cambridge University Press, USA.