Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, cilt.46, 2022 (SCI-Expanded)
Background: and purpose: Treatment non-adherence is quite common among patients with bipolar disorder, negatively affects the social functioning of patients and reduces the quality of life. This pilot study aims to measure the effect of treatment adherence training given to patients with bipolar disorder on treatment adherence, social functioning and quality of life. Materials and methods: The pilot study was conducted with 40 bipolar disorder patients, 19 in the intervention group and 21 in the control group, using a quasi-experimental research design. The data were collected using the Participant Information Form, Medication Adherence Rating Scale, Social Functioning Scale and Short Form of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire. Treatment adherence training was given once a week individually for a total of five sessions. Results: There was no significant difference between the demographic characteristics and pre-test scale scores of the patients in the intervention and control groups before the treatment adherence training (p > 0.05). The mean treatment adherence, social functioning and quality of life scores of the patients in the intervention group were higher in the post-test and follow-up test compared to the patients in the control group (p < 0.001). Conclusion: The intervention had a positive effect on treatment adherence, social functioning and quality of life of patients. Considering the promising results of this pilot study, treatment adherence training should be studied further in the patients with biplor disorder.