Implications for practice and research

• Medication adherence can be best enhanced through a strong patient–provider partnership. Family support is another powerful method of promoting medication adherence in South Asian immigrants.

• Future research should include: further exploration of cultural perspectives affecting adherence; use of mixed-methods with state-of-the-science measurement (eg, electronic medication event monitoring device) to validate these findings; testing of interventions to improve medication adherence in ethnic populations.

Context

The authors make the point that cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality worldwide. Individuals from South Asian countries have higher rates of cardiovascular disease and medication non-adherence may be contributing to the problem. The …