Cultural Differences in Illness Perception and Adherence to Treatment of Cystic Fibrosis Patients.
Patients with Cystic Fibrosis have a complex treatment regimen which poses emotional, social and
economic burden. Adherence to treatment may be influenced by the
patient’s own beliefs about the disease, which may be influenced by his religious/cultural background.
The Israeli population consists of a majority of Jews. The Arabs,
which are a minority, have different socioeconomic status, cultural beliefs and values.
To examine the cultural differences in illness perception and treatment adherence
between Jewish and Arab CF patients, and the possible association between them.
A cross-sectional, single Israeli CF center pilot study. Each patient completed the Illness perception-revised
questionnaire and CF My Way questionnaire to assess adherence to therapy. Illness severity was scored
using CF-ABLE score.
The correlations between religious/cultural background, illness perception and
adherence to treatment were
examined. Ten Jews and 23 Arabs. Their median age was 21 years. The illness perception
questionnaire revealed differences between the two groups.
Arabs considered their disease as more cyclical and less predictable. Only severe
Arab patients assumed that treatment can affect their disease.
In both groups, there was a correlation between consequences score and adherence to inhaled
antibiotics and between timeline score and adherence to mucolytics. Adherence to physiotherapy
was lower than recommended and there were numerous misconceptions about the causes of the disease.
Pulm Res Respir Med Open J. 2015; 2(3): 114-119. doi: 10.17140/PRRMOJ-2-118
