The Influence of Personality Traits on Reported Adherence to Medication in Individuals with Chronic Disease: An Epidemiological Study in West Sweden

BACKGROUND: Limited research exists exploring the influence of personality on adherence behaviour. Since non-adherence is a major obstacle in treating prevalent chronic diseases the aim was to determine whether personality traits are related to reported adherence to medication in individuals with chronic disease. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Individuals with chronic disease (n = 749) were identified in a random population sample of 5000 inhabitants aged 30-70 in two municipalities in West Sweden. Data on five personality traits, Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to experiences, Agreeableness, and Conscientiousness, and medication adherence behaviour was collected by questionnaires. Statistical analyses resulted in a negative relationship between Neuroticism and medication adherence (P < 0.001), while both Agreeableness (P < 0.001) and Conscientiousness (P < 0.001) were positively related to adherence. At high levels of Conscientiousness, low adherence was related to higher scores in Neuroticism. At high levels of Agreeableness, low adherence was related to low scores in Conscientiousness and high scores in Openness to experiences. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrated that multiple personality traits are of significant importance for adherence behaviour in individuals with chronic disease. The findings suggest that several personality traits may interact in influencing adherence behaviour. Personality traits could putatively be used to focus efforts to educate and support patients with high risk of low medical adherence

Proprietary Interests and Collaboration in Stem Cell Science: Avoiding Anticommons, Countering Canalyzation

In this chapter I explore how proprietary interests and commercialization norms can impede collaboration in stem cell science. I begin by outlining three layers of property in stem cell science—stem cell data, stem cell materials, and stem cell patenting—and explain how they are intertwined in practice. I then present two stem cell research initiatives, the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC) and Stem Cells for Safer Medicines (SC4SM). Using two conceptual frames, the “tragedy of the anticommons” and “patent canalyzation,” I analyze the extent to which the CSCC and SC4SM appear to address proprietary or commercialization-related impediments to collaboration. Whereas the anticommons frame, and empirical methodologies it has spawned to date, tends to capture costs imposed upon the scientific fields as a whole, patent canalyzation focuses on the individual scientist, hypothesizing that patenting and other commercialization behaviours may (re)constitute the scientific self. The chapter concludes by highlighting three intellectual property-related best practices intended to facilitate collaboration in stem cell science