Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Health Services

Advisor

Gudeta D. Fufaa

Abstract

African American men show less adherence toward maintenance pharmacotherapy for psychiatric disorders than Caucasian men. However, studies that specifically investigated the sociodemographic determinants of medication nonadherence in African American psychiatric patients based on healthcare providers’ perspectives are limited. Therefore, this study explored the viewpoints of healthcare workers in a Chicago-area hospital network about medication nonadherence among psychiatric African American male patients. This qualitative case-study is guided by the health-communication model and theory of planned behavior. Interview sessions were conducted with providers who met the inclusion criteria and NVivo 11 was used to store and organize the data in order to answer the research questions. Of the 40 participants, 55% mentioned that older U.S. male psychiatric patients are more nonadherent. Furthermore, 80% of participants noted that the presence of a significant partner serving as an emotional-support system induces patients to avoid medication nonadherence. Study findings revealed that it is important for providers to especially cater to African America patients, due to inherent risk factors. Although African American male psychiatric patients may be culturally challenged by medication nonadherence, the ability to manage their condition, recover fully, and lead normal lives is possible. This study promotes social change by offering focused practices for training and retraining of healthcare workers who provide care to African American male psychiatric patients. Study results represent a potential impact for positive social change by providing evidence that improving providers’ perceptions of patients is an additional approach to improving overall patient care.

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