Abstract
BACKGROUND:The relatively high rate of medication noncompliance in patients with schizophrenia may be in part the result of cognitive impairments frequently associated with the disorder.
OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether baseline performance on specific neurocognitive tests predicts a patient's level of medication compliance. The question of whether improvement on these same tests after 3 months of antipsychotic treatment would correlate with medication compliance was also examined in this study.
DESCRIPTVE CORRELATIONAL DESIGN: Patients' medication compliance (on a percentage basis) was correlated with their baseline and 3-month posttreatment scores on four neurocognitive tests.
RESULTS: A statistically significant relationship exists between medication compliance and patients'performance on tests of attention and immediate visual recall
CONCLUSION: The results of this study support the implementation of interventions that ameliorate specific neurocognitive deficits that, in turn may facilitate improved medication compliance.
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