STRONG MEDICINE - CAMBODIAN VIEWS OF MEDICINE AND MEDICAL COMPLIANCE

OBJECTIVE: To identify important determinants of noncompliance among C ambodian refugees. DESIGN: Open-ended interviews. SETTING: University- affiliated ambulatory care clinic in an inner-city hospital,PARTICIPAN TS: Thirty adult Cambodian refugees (15 men and 15 women) who were reg ular utilizers of a refugee clinic. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Six ty-seven percent of the participants described being noncompliant with at least one of their medications, Four common causes of noncomplianc e were identified: 1) misunderstanding the intent of the medication; 2 ) side effects; 3) concern about the effect of medication on ''interna l strength''; and 4) Cambodian ideas about pharmacokinetics. CONCLUSIO NS: Noncompliance was commonly reported by the Cambodian respondents. Noncompliance was both intentional and unintentional; the unintended n oncompliance derived from patients' attempting to comply with therapy according to Cambodian ideas about the body and Western medication, Th is article suggests clinical approaches to enhance compliance with pre scribed regimens among recent Cambodian immigrants and refugees.