Title:
Socio-demographic Variables and Centrality of Religiosity in Association With Illness Cognitions and Medication Adherence in Romanian People With Chronic Disease.

Authors:
Gheorghe Huza, Romania

Abstract:

Objective: The aim of the study was to identify the link between socio-demographic variables and religiosity (named predictors) on the one hand and disease assessment and medication adherence (named criterion variables) on the other. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used. The sample consists of 118 (67.2% women) people with chronic illness ages ranging from 18-86 .years. Data were collected during the period December 2018-May 2019, on the Romanian version of the Centrality of Religiosity (CRS 15) Scale, Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ) and Drug Attitude Inventory (DAI 10). Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA) was used in order to examine the correlation between the two sets of variables. Results: Two canonical functions revealed two combination of maximize of the correlations. The analyses showed that a low age (-.55), a high income (0.77) and a high level of religious information (0.40) was associated with a low level of negative consequences of the disease felt in daily life ( -0.52), a high level of ability to manage the negative consequences of the disease (0.67) and a low level of adherence (-0.67). The analyses also showed that a high income (0.35), low participation in public religious activities (-0.79), low frequency of personal prayer (-0.40) and minimal religious experiences (-0.66) are associated with low perceived benefits of long-term disease (-0.84) and with low adherence (-0.48). Conclusion: The present study suggests a holistic approach to adherence in which the consideration of socio-demographic factors and religiosity can explain the nature of non-adherence.