Treatment adherence as a component of professional competence of medical university students; Приверженность к лечению как компонент профессиональной грамотности студентов медицинского ВУЗа

Introduction. Previous studies of treatment adherence among patients, medical students, and physicians suggest that there are significant differences in their views of the factors that lead to non-adherence to medication. This in turn may lead to failure to recognize the causes of patients’ non-adherence. Adherence concepts are integrated into the curricula of many medical and pharmaceutical schools worldwide to prevent unnecessary expenses within the healthcare system. Medical students training is focused on interaction with real consumers of medications. To understand their experiences and prospects, as well as the psychological states associated with the patients’ health, a “pill experience” is used. Aim. To study the needs and limitations in compliant behavior and the level of potential treatment adherence of the students at Kursk State Medical University. Materials and Methods. 1,063 1st-6th-year students of the Medical Faculty of Kursk State Medical University, aged 20.23±0.1 years, were surveyed using a questionnaire for the quantification of treatment adherence (KOP-25). The findings obtained were analyzed using statistical processing methods. Results and Discussion. The average level of integrated treatment adherence among medical students was 52.9%±0.5%. Among all adherence indicators, the lowest level was for adherence to lifestyle modification (43.2%±0.5%), the average level was for adherence to drug therapy (56.3%±0.6%), and the highest was for adherence to medical support (62.1%±0.5%) (no gender differences were found). This may illustrate the respondents’ insufficient understanding of their role in the treatment and control of the risk of occurrence and development of chronic diseases, and their lack of motivation to maintain their health. The treatment adherence level in the 1st year is significantly higher than in other years (p≤0.05). Students suffering from chronic diseases, especially congenital ones, showed a lower rate of adherence compared to healthy individuals. At Kursk State Medical University, senior students are introduced to the main aspects of treatment adherence when studying subjects, such as outpatient therapy (31.3%) and public health and healthcare (28.9%). The largest part of the students (84.5%) expressed the opinion that a physician influences their patient’s adherence to treatment significantly. Conclusions. It is necessary to include the additional studies of the treatment adherence issues into the educational programs for training future medical professionals. © 2025 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.