The relationship between religious health fatalism, medication adherence, and health literacy among patients with hypertension: a cross-sectional study.
Tanrıverdi Ömer, Gültekin Abdurrezzak
PMID 42573603WHAT IT FOUND
Among 211 patients with hypertension, stronger belief that health outcomes are predetermined by religion was linked to lower medication adherence.
Health literacy was slightly higher when fatalism was higher, but literacy was not linked to adherence.
Key findings
01Higher religious health fatalism was associated with lower medication adherence.
02Religious health fatalism had a weak positive association with health literacy.
03Health literacy was not associated with medication adherence in regression analysis.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study measured associations at one time point, so it cannot show that fatalism caused poorer adherence or that health literacy caused adherence. Answers came from questionnaires, which can be affected by recall bias and the desire to give acceptable answers. Participants came from two public hospitals in one region of southeastern Türkiye, so results may not apply to all patients with hypertension. Family support was not measured, although most participants lived with spouse and children, so it cannot explain medication adherence.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that reducing religious health fatalism will improve medication adherence. This was a cross-sectional survey, so it shows an association at one time point, not a treatment effect.