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ABSTRACT This study used a randomized clinical control design to test first, whether decreasing the complexity of antibiotic regimens resulted in increased compliance and, secondly, whether the added component of written information and behavioural tailoring increased compliance in patients with twice‐a‐day schedules. Twenty‐eight general practitioners who were selected at random and 232 of their patients took part in the study. Patients were allocated at random to receive either doxycycline (one dose a day); co‐trimoxazole (two doses a day); amoxycillin (three doses a day); or co‐trimoxazole (two doses a day) with a written instruction sheet and advice on how to best fit the tablets into a daily routine. Decreasing complexity of the regimen significantly increased the probability that patients would not miss any doses of the course (absolute compliance: x2 = 25.04; df=2; P< 0.001 ). There was also a significant association between complexity and non‐compliance at a level which might be clinically significant x2= 6.78; df = 2; P=0.03). Written information and behavioural tailoring did not further augment compliance in patients with one‐ or two‐doses‐a‐day schedules. It was also shown that general practitioners predicted potential noncompliance in patients at a rate no better than would be expected by chance.

It has been argued that women have specific health needs aside from those of the community as a whole. As a consequence, a move towards increased “earmarked” funding for women's health has occurred. However, some debate exists about the areas of women's health that are most in need of additional funding and about appropriate mechanisms to determine priority areas. The present study explored community perceptions of women's health needs. A sample of 157 women, who had been selected at random, were asked a series of questions about the health and social problems that are experienced by women. The questions assessed the self‐reported prevalence of the problems and asked women to nominate those problems which were priorities for them personally, and for Australian women in general. The areas that were identified as priorities by this community survey were compared with those that were identified by means of other methods of needs analysis. (Med J Aust 1988; 148: 123–127)