ISSN 1671-3710
CN 11-4766/R
主办:中国科学院心理研究所
出版:科学出版社

心理科学进展 ›› 2024, Vol. 32 ›› Issue (5): 859-872.doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1042.2024.00859

• 研究前沿 • 上一篇    

消费者用药依从行为探析:基于两阶段理论模型

沈曼琼1, 廖建财2, 王海忠3   

  1. 1广东工业大学管理学院, 广州 510520;
    2阿尔托大学商学院, 赫尔辛基 埃斯波 00076, 芬兰;
    3中山大学管理学院, 广州 510275
  • 收稿日期:2023-03-29 出版日期:2024-05-15 发布日期:2024-03-05
  • 通讯作者: 王海忠, E-mail: wanghzh@mail.sysu.edu.cn
  • 基金资助:
    国家自然科学基金青年项目(72102076); 国家自然科学基金面上项目(72072191); 国家自然科学基金重点项目(71832015)

Analysis of consumer medication adherence: Based on two-stage theoretical model

SHEN Manqiong1, LIAO Jiancai2, WANG Haizhong3   

  1. 1School of Management, Guangdong University of Technology, Guangzhou 510520, China;
    2Department of Marketing, Aalto University School of Business, P.O. Box 21230, FI-00076 Aalto, Finland;
    3School of Business, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
  • Received:2023-03-29 Online:2024-05-15 Published:2024-03-05

摘要: 个体健康行为改变是否存在阶段性是当前争议的焦点。用药依从行为作为关键的影响医疗效果指标, 对个体的身心健康产生重要影响。前人对于用药依从水平的研究综述大多是从医学角度, 着眼于特定疾病的用药依从行为。然而, 在医疗保健行业市场化的背景下, 鲜有研究从消费者的视角出发, 探究信息加工方式和心理过程对消费者用药依从行为的影响。同时, 现有研究也缺乏对依从行为的理论分类和论述。基于两阶段理论模型回顾了营销领域影响消费者用药依从行为的影响因素, 梳理了干预策略, 并提出未来研究趋势与展望。在理论上, 这有助于从健康行为改变阶段上理解个体的用药依从行为, 丰富健康领域的阶段理论。在实践上有助于更好地理解消费者的心理健康和行为规律, 并为慢性病管理提供了营销方面的启示。

关键词: 用药依从, 消费者行为, 医疗保健, 行为干预

Abstract: Current debates are centered on the controversial question of whether individual health behavior changes occur in stages. Medication adherence, a crucial indicator influencing medical outcomes, significantly impacts the physical and mental health of individuals. Medication adherence refers to the extent to which consumers follow or adopt recommendations from individuals or organizations regarding acquiring (purchasing) and correctly using medications. This includes both prescription and over-the-counter drugs, as well as products or services related to physical health examinations. Previous studies on medication adherence levels have predominantly taken a medical perspective, focusing on adherence behaviors for specific diseases. However, with the increasing marketization of the health care industry, limited research exists from the consumer's perspective investigating the influence of information processing and psychological processes on consumer medication adherence behaviors.
Current research indicates a growing emphasis on the stage theory of health behavior change for studying and promoting health. Derived from social cognitive theory, stage theory posits that consumer health behavior is not a continuous process but rather a multistage process. Individuals go through inherently different ordered stages in deciding, initiating, and maintaining health-related behaviors. Individuals within the same stage face common obstacles, while those in different stages encounter distinct challenges. In medication adherence research, the health action process theory has demonstrated significant advantages in operability, intervention assessment, and cultural and environmental adaptability. This theory divides the process of changing health behavior into two stages: motivation and volition. In the context of medication adherence, these stages align well with the awareness stage of drug acquisition and the trial and adoption stage of drug usage, offering a comprehensive summary of consumer medication adherence behaviors in these stages. This theory is intuitive and conducive to the targeted design of intervention measures. Therefore, this study is grounded in the two-stage theory of the health action process model, systematically reviewing and summarizing consumer medication adherence behaviors in the identified stages.
Building upon the health action process theory, this paper categorizes the consumer's medication adherence process into the awareness stage and the trial and adoption stage. In the awareness stage, factors influencing consumer medication adherence, such as inherent beliefs, prior knowledge of medications, and information processing biases, are summarized through a review of past research. In the trial and adoption stage, factors affecting consumer medication adherence, including the effectiveness rate of medication, marketing communication of medications, and after-sales services, are systematically summarized. After the factors influencing medication adherence levels were clarified, this paper further investigates each stage, delineating and elaborating on interventions for consumer medication adherence. The medication awareness stage involves attitude intervention, while the medication trial and adoption stage focus on behavior intervention. Central to attitude intervention is increasing medication willingness, a crucial factor in promoting the initial level of medication adherence. This paper outlines intervention strategies from three perspectives: customer education, enterprise nudging, and media regulation. According to two-stage theory, the focus of intervention in the medication trial and adoption stage is to prolong consumers' will in this stage by increasing medication willingness, thus sustaining medication adherence. Enhancing consumer medication adherence at the behavioral level requires joint efforts from consumers, enterprises, and relevant government health service departments. Combining the review literature, this paper systematically outlines intervention strategies for the medication trial and adoption stage from three aspects: customer empowerment, enterprise incentives, and multiparty collaboration. In the future, this paper proposes several prospects, including exploring the gap between “intention‒behavior,” adopting an integrated approach to investigate the complete process of medication adherence behavior, exploring prefactors influencing medication adherence behavior from a diverse perspective, and delving into the intrinsic mechanisms and influencing factors of (non)adherence to medication.
In conclusion, nonadherence or low adherence has become a significant constraint on consumer health. This paper, based on the two-stage theory model, integrates the influencing factors of adherence behaviors in these two stages and proposes corresponding intervention measures to promote domestic research development in this field. This study aims to overcome the current fragmented nature of related research by constructing a two-stage integrated model based on the two-stage model of health behavior change, considering both the acquisition and usage stages of medications, and building an integrated model from cognitive and treatment perspectives. Possible contributions include: (1) providing a two-stage integrated model based on the concept and definition of medication adherence, revealing influencing factors of medication adherence behaviors, summarizing intervention strategies for consumer medication adherence, and proposing future research trends and prospects, contributing to exploring, understanding, and intervening in individual medication adherence behaviors from the perspective of health behavior change stages; (2) stepping out of the traditional medical theoretical framework and delving into the consumer group and consumer psychology perspective, revealing the research dynamics and progress of medication adherence behaviors in the consumer behavior domain; (3) advancing and enriching stage theories in the health domain, as researchers in the health field hold inconsistent views on whether behavior is staged or nonstaged. This study categorizes the influencing factors and intervention strategies of medication adherence behaviors in different stages of health behavior change, contributing to advancing and enriching stage theories on health behavior; (4) This study holds significant practical significance. The COVID-19 pandemic has posed a significant threat to the lives and health of people worldwide, sounding an alarm for health behavior. This study contributes to understanding consumer behavior in the postpandemic stage and provides marketing insights for chronic disease management.

Key words: medication adherence, consumer behavior, health care, behavioral intervention