Is patient empowerment the key to promote adherence? A systematic review of the relationship between self-efficacy, health locus of control and medication adherence

Current health policies emphasize the need for an equitable doctor-patient relationship, and this requires a certain level of patient empowerment. However, a systematic review of the empirical evidence on how empowerment affects medication adherence-the extent to which patients follow the physician's prescription of medication intake-is still missing. The goal of this systematic review is to sum up current state-of-the-art knowledge concerning the relationship between patient empowerment and medication adherence across medical conditions. As our conceptualization defines health locus of control and self-efficacy as being crucial components of empowerment, we explored the relationship between these two constructs and medication adherence.

Relevant studies were retrieved through a comprehensive search of Medline and PsychINFO databases (1967 to 2017). In total, 4903 publications were identified. After applying inclusion and exclusion criteria and quality assessment, 154 articles were deemed relevant. Peer-reviewed articles, written in English, addressing the relationship between empowerment (predictor) and medication adherence (outcome) were included.