Adherence in health and psychotherapy: conceptualization and application in nocturnal enuresis

Abstract

Although there are several studies about adherence prevalence and predictors, few of them demonstrate efficient strategies to deal with this issue. A literature review found that about half of the patients that initiate psychotherapy do not conclude the process. Therefore, the measure of adherence is usually non-adherence, assessed by treatment dropout. In this paper, we present data related to dropout of alarm treatment for nocturnal enuresis. Sixty-one children and adolescents that initiated alarm treatment were included. Families missing appointments, not replying to phone calls or stating that treatment procedures were abandoned characterized dropout. Twelve families dropped out from treatment, corresponding to 19.6% of the sample. Only age was significantly related to dropout: younger children were more likely to abandon treatment. The already known relation between age and parentss intolerance explains the results and determinates the necessity of an intense informative work with parents of enuretic children.