Positive Reinforcement May Help Patients Take Their
Meds
01/27/12
FRIDAY, Jan. 27 (HealthDay News) -- Positive reinforcement, such
as receiving small, unexpected gifts and introducing upbeat
thoughts into daily routines, seems to help patients with high
blood pressure take their medication as directed, according to a
new study of black Americans.
The findings are significant because poor blood pressure control
can lead to heart problems and death, the researchers from the
Center for Healthful Behavior Change at NYU School of Medicine
noted in the report published online Jan. 23 in the
Archives of Internal Medicine.
For the study, Dr. Gbenga Ogedegbe and colleagues examined 256
black patients with high blood pressure (also called hypertension)
to determine if positive reinforcement in addition to patient
education would help them follow their treatment plans and take
their medication correctly.
The researchers divided the patients into two groups: those who
only received patient education; and those who received positive
reinforcement as well as patient education.
Both groups received educational materials, including a
self-management workbook, a behavioral contract and two phone calls
each month.
However, patients who received additional positive reinforcement
were given an extra chapter in their workbook that discussed how
positive moments could be used to help them stick to their
treatment plans.
In addition, during their semi-monthly phone calls, these
patients were asked to remember positive moments in their lives and
use those optimistic feelings to help them overcome any challenges
that made it hard to take their medicine. This group was also given
token, unexpected gifts in the mail before their phone calls.
The investigators found that medication adherence at one year
was higher in the positive reinforcement plus education group (42
percent) than in the education-only group (36 percent).
"Our findings suggest that [patient education] enhanced with behavioral constructs drawn from positive psychology and designed to foster [self-affirmation] produced significantly greater medication adherence in hypertensive African Americans than [patient education] alone," the authors wrote in a journal news release.
The study authors noted that more research is needed to
determine if incorporating positive reinforcement into treatment
for high blood pressure would be cost-effective.
More information
The U.S. National Library of Medicine has more about
hypertension.
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