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Narrative arcs and shaping influences in long-term medication adherence

Authors/Editors: Nakata, Ch.
Sharp, L.K.
Spanjol, J.
Cui, A.S.
Izberk-Bilgin, E.
Crawford, S.Y.
Xiao, Y.
Published: 2021
Type: Articles in Refereed Journals (International)
ISBN/ISSN: 0277-9536
Published by: Social Science & Medicine https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2021.114264

Social Science & Medicine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Abstract

Long-term adherence to medications is not well understood and poses a significant challenge for many chronically ill persons. Past research provides insights on adherence in short durations such as a day or several weeks, even though chronically ill patients are required to take medications for periods as long as a lifetime. To fill this important knowledge gap, we study the temporal unfolding of prolonged medication-taking experiences among thirty adults, mostly African American, with chronic hypertension in the U.S. Specifically, we take an extended, experience-centered, narrative approach to examine retrospective patient accounts of adherence efforts over spans of one year to more than four decades. Applying Gergen and Gergen's concept of narrative forms (1983), we find four distinct narrative arcs, or patterned sequences of medication consumption, that we term Out of the Gate, Existential Turn, Fits and Starts, and Slow Climb, along with individual and social elements that shape and shift practices in the context of time.

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