The aims of this study were to identify the prevalence of compliance with drug therapy in patients with chronic pain and analyze the relationships between compliance and characteristics of drug therapy and psychosocial factors (beliefs regarding pain, health locus of control and depression). Thirty patients were evaluated 5 times over a period of 6 months. Total compliance occurred in 43.3% to 56.7% of the patients. Partial compliance and non-compliance were high (40.0%-56.7%). The index of compliance did not vary over the six months. Low compliance related to occurrence of side effects and beliefs that the control of health depended on the patient, pain is a disability, that pain means the presence of physical injury and solicitous behavior of others is desirable when there is manifestation of pain. Knowing the factors involved in compliance enables us to test interventions that optimize it.
pain; patient compliance; attitudes; locus of control; depression
