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Results for “Medication Adherence”

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PubMed2006

Health literacy and adherence to glaucoma therapy.

PURPOSE: To describe the health literacy of subjects with open angle glaucoma and to investigate the hypothesis that low health literacy is associated with poor glaucoma medication adherence. DESIGN: Cross-sectional patient survey and concomitant chart review. METHODS: One hundred and ninety-seven subjects with open angle glaucoma participated in a survey which included basic demographic information such as age, gender, ethnicity, and level of education completed, and a test of heath literacy, the Rapid Assessment of Adult Literacy in Medicine. Information was collected regarding visual field tests and prescribed medication. The subjects' pharmacies were contacted to ascertain the number of refills requested over the previous six months. RESULTS: Although 146 subjects (74%) reported completing high school, only 94 subjects (48.0%) read at or above a ninth grade level; 23 (11.7%) read at a level of third grade or below. The mean number of refills requested by a subject in the preceding six months was not predicted by race (P = .27,) gender (P = .31), age (P = .92), mean deviation of the visual field (P = .36), or level of education (P = .58). There was a positive relationship between health literacy and the number of refills obtained (P = .003). CONCLUSIONS: Many patients with open angle glaucoma may have poor health literacy. The subjects in our study with low literacy were less adherent with their glaucoma medications than those with a higher level of literacy. Interventions specifically targeting patients with low literacy may improve medication adherence.

Aged↗

PubMed2002

Virologic correlates of adherence to antiretroviral medications and therapeutic failure.

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy affects the pharmacokinetics of antiviral drugs and activates a cascade of events ultimately leading to therapeutic success or failure. An optimal adherence usually affords minimal rounds of virus replication and rare spontaneous mutations, which are unable to be fixed in the genome because of the competition of wild-type (more fit) strains. Therefore, adherence-based therapeutic success is mostly accompanied by the prevalence of wild-type strains. In case of poor adherence, virus replication is substantial, and mutations randomly occurring tend to be fixed within the genome. Under these conditions, mutated-resistant strains will outgrow wild-type virus (sensitive to antivirals and thereby unable to compete enough with resistant strains for cellular targets): thus, therapeutic failure occurs, and mutated resistant strains are predominant. In the case of very low or absent adherence, virologic failure occurs, although wild-type virus (whose replication is not significantly affected by antivirals) is not outgrown by mutated strains randomly produced but unable to be fixed within the genome. Taken together, these events and their consequences strongly support the relevance of a tight and continuous monitoring of adherence to antiretroviral drugs to prevent the risk of development of mutated strains often cross-resistant to the majority of antiretroviral drugs currently available.

Anti-HIV Agents↗

PubMed2005

Medication non-adherence in the adolescent renal transplant recipient: a clinician's viewpoint.

Recent advancements in immunosuppression and surgical techniques have significantly improved the outcome of kidney transplantation in the pediatric population. Adolescents enjoy the best 1-year graft survival of any age group. However, the long-term transplant outcome in adolescents is disappointing. Non-adherence with immunosuppressive medications is one of the most important contributing factors for graft rejection and loss in teenagers. The impact of non-adherence is perceived to be far more powerful in adolescent transplant recipients than in the transplant population as a whole. To better understand adolescent non-adherence, the process of transplantation must be placed in the context of adolescent development. Adolescents try to establish their identity and autonomy separately from the parents; however at the same time, adolescents with chronic illness require help, support and guidance from adults, including parents and medical personnel. Adolescents have limited ability to anticipate abstractly the long-term consequences of their immediate actions. This inconsistency can create frustration in both adolescents and in the supporting systems around them. Despite the significant consequences of adolescent non-adherence, research in this area is scarce. There are still no established definitions, standardized diagnostic methods and effective interventions to treat and prevent this problem. We propose the recommendations to approach the problems of adolescent transplant non-adherence from the transplant clinician's viewpoint. With early identification and appropriate interventions, significant improvement in adolescent graft survival is possible.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Validation of patient reports, automated pharmacy records, and pill counts with electronic monitoring of adherence to antihypertensive therapy.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the validity of patient report, pharmacy dispensing records, and pill counts as measures of antihypertensive adherence using electronic monitoring as the validation standard. METHODS: The study was conducted among 286 members of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care, a managed care organization, who were at least 18 years of age, on monotherapy for hypertension, and had prescription drug coverage. Prescription refill adherence during the 12 months before enrollment was determined from their automated pharmacy dispensing records. Participants were interviewed about their medication adherence before and after a 3-month electronic monitoring period during which pill counts were also performed. Adherence to both recommended number and timing of doses was estimated from electronic monitoring data. Data analysis was based on statistical correlation and analysis of variance. RESULTS: Electronic adherence monitoring revealed that the proportion of prescribed doses consumed was higher (0.92) than the proportion of doses taken on time (0.63). The correlation between adherence to quantity and timing of doses was 0.32. Concurrent pill counts and earlier refilling patterns were moderately correlated with electronic monitoring (pill count: r = .52 with quantity and r = .17 with timing; refill adherence r = .32 with quantity and r = .22 with timing). There was considerable misclassification of adherence reported by patients, although nonadherence was generally accurately reported. CONCLUSIONS: Deviation from recommended timing of doses appears to be greater than from prescribed number of doses. Pharmacy dispensing records demonstrate predictive validity as measures of cumulative exposure and gaps in medication supply. Adherence levels determined from pill counts and pharmacy dispensing records correlate more closely with quantity than with timing of doses. Nonadherence reported by patients can serve as a qualitative indicator and predictor of reduced adherence.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Medication non-adherence among older adults: a review of strategies and interventions for improvement.

Medication non-adherence among older adults is a prevalent and costly problem; approximately one half have problems following their prescribed medication regimen, and more than 10% of hospital admissions are the result of medication non-adherence. In this literature review, medication non-adherence is defined and described among adults age 50 and older. Factors associated with medication non-adherence are presented, interventions to improve medication non-adherence are discussed, and methods for assessing medication non-adherence are reviewed. In addition, nursing assessment and intervention to improve medication non-adherence are described.

Activities of Daily Living↗

PubMed2006

A practical method to calibrate self-reported adherence to antiretroviral therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Self-report of antiretroviral medications adherence is inexpensive and simple to use in clinical settings but grossly overestimates adherence. We investigated methods to calibrate patients' self-reported adherence to match objectively measured adherence more closely for the purpose of developing a practical and more accurate self-reported adherence measure. DESIGN: Longitudinal cohort design. METHODS: Using data from 2 prospective longitudinal clinical investigations conducted at 5 HIV clinics, we examined the discrepancy between self-reported adherence and objectively measured adherence. We evaluated the relation between attitudinal measures and the degree of discrepancy and used a cross-validation approach to propose candidate items to improve adherence survey methodology. RESULTS: Among 330 patients, self-reported adherence was consistently higher than objectively measured adherence. The best calibration models included the patient's self-reported adherence, duration of the antiretroviral regimen, and attitudinal measures (ability to take medication as instructed, believing medication can help one to live longer, whether or not it is too troublesome to take antiretrovirals, and feeling things are going the right way). CONCLUSION: The method efficiently identified survey items to improve self-reported adherence measurement. The calibrated measure more closely approximates objectively measured adherence and is more sensitive for detecting nonadherence. These models merit evaluation in other settings.

Adult↗

PubMed1981

A test of interventions to increase adherence to hypertensive medical regimens.

Low rates of adherence to hypertensive therapy limit patients' securing the full benefits of treatment. While some factors related to adherence have been identified research on the effectiveness of interventions to increase adherence levels is sparse. The present study was designed to assess the impact of a series of different interventions on a group of some 400 patients, all under the care of private physicians in a small community. A factorial design was employed to deliver four, sequential educational interventions, about four months apart, to randomly selected sub-groups. Interviews before and after each intervention provided information concerning self-reported adherence, health status, health beliefs, and personal characteristics. Pertinent medical records and pharmacy data were also obtained. The first intervention - printed material - did not significantly affect adherence. The second and fourth interventions - nurse telephone calls and social support - each increased medication taking and the third intervention - self-monitoring - led to better weight control. There was no cumulative impact of the interventions and different aspects of regimens were not significantly related to one another.

Antihypertensive Agents↗

PubMed2001

Medication supervision and adherence of persons with psychotic disorders in residential treatment settings: a pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Little is known about risk factors for and predictors of medication nonadherence within residential facilities. This pilot study examined the association between medication adherence and level of supervision and other environmental and clinical variables among patients with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders living in supported housing. METHOD: A convenience sample of 74 adult residents with schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders (DSM-IV criteria) living in 4 supported housing facilities in New York City were assessed by their treating psychiatrist for medication cessation during the previous month. Demographic characteristics, medications, supervision, global function as measured by the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF), and substance abuse were also assessed. A priori hypotheses were that regimen complexity would be directly and medication supervision would be inversely related to medication nonadherence. RESULTS: In multivariate models, lack of direct medication supervision, negative medication attitude, and lower GAF score were associated with increased medication nonadherence in the recent past. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that direct supervision of medication is associated with better adherence in residential treatment settings. This finding is relevant for mental health service planners and clinicians working in these settings.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Somatic complaints and isoniazid (INH) side effects in Latino adolescents with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI).

This study examined the potential effects of INH side effects and non-specific somatic complaints on medication adherence in 96 Latino adolescents participating in a controlled trial designed to increase isoniazid (INH) adherence. These participants (who received usual medical care) were interviewed monthly over 9 months. Participants were questioned regarding medication taking, the frequency of 15 INH-related side effects from the Physician's Desk Reference (PDR) [1], and 21 non-specific somatic complaints. Participants were aged 12-19 years, 53.1% were male, 66.7% were born in Mexico, 73% had no health insurance, and 52.5% were classified as bicultural. Approximately 70% of participants experienced at least one side effect during the trial. Side effects that occurred while taking INH were not significantly related to total number of pills taken; somatic complaints that occurred during 9 months of INH were significantly negatively related to cumulative adherence. Females reported significantly more somatic complaints at baseline than males.

Acculturation↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Measuring adherence to antiretroviral medications in clinical trials.

Antiretroviral medications have the potential to transform HIV infection from a fatal to a chronic disease. One of the significant barriers to clinical success is medication nonadherence. Measuring adherence in clinical trials is increasingly important because inadequate adherence may explain some of the variation in clinical response in antiretroviral clinical trials. Additionally, to quantitate the success of interventions that improve adherence, accurate measures need to be utilized. This article summarizes commonly used adherence measures in HIV clinical trials and observational studies such as patient self-report, pill counts, plasma levels, and electronic monitoring. The merits and shortcomings of each measure are discussed.

Antiretroviral Therapy, Highly Active↗

PubMed2007

Religious beliefs in schizophrenia: their relevance for adherence to treatment.

The study examined how religious beliefs and practices impact upon medication and illness representations in chronic schizophrenia. One hundred three stabilized patients were included in Geneva's outpatient public psychiatric facility in Switzerland. Interviews were conducted to investigate spiritual and religious beliefs and religious practices and religious coping. Medication adherence was assessed through questions to patients and to their psychiatrists and by a systematic blood drug monitoring. Thirty-two percent of patients were partially or totally nonadherent to oral medication. Fifty-eight percent of patients were Christians, 2% Jewish, 3% Muslim, 4% Buddhist, 14% belonged to various minority or syncretic religious movements, and 19% had no religious affiliation. Two thirds of the total sample considered spirituality as very important or even essential in everyday life. Fifty-seven percent of patients had a representation of their illness directly influenced by their spiritual beliefs (positively in 31% and negatively in 26%). Religious representations of illness were prominent in nonadherent patients. Thirty-one percent of nonadherent patients and 27% of partially adherent patients underlined an incompatibility or contradiction between their religion and taking medication, versus 8% of adherent patients. Religion and spirituality contribute to shaping representations of disease and attitudes toward medical treatment in patients with schizophrenia. This dimension should be on the agenda of psychiatrists working with patients with schizophrenia.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

PubMed2001

A motivational intervention to improve adherence to treatment of chronic disease.

PURPOSE: To describe an approach to intervention, based on Motivational Interviewing (MI) and the Transtheoretical Model (TTM) of Change that allows the health care provider to support medication adherence in a client-centered fashion. DATA SOURCES: Review of selected research-based and theoretical articles on MI, TTM, and medication compliance issues. CONCLUSIONS: Adherence is a complex phenomenon that requires a personalized intervention. The response must focus on clients' readiness to adhere, their sense of self-efficacy in taking medicines in all circumstances, and their personal pros and cons related to adherence. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: Adherence to complex medication regimens is important to long-term treatment of chronic diseases, such as HIV disease. Adherence in HIV is particularly critical to adequately suppress viral replication as well as to prevent opportunistic infections.

Chronic Disease↗

PubMed2005

No room for complacency about adherence to antiretroviral therapy in sub-Saharan Africa.

Medication adherence is essential to successful treatment of HIV/AIDS. Maintaining high adherence will likely prove a major challenge in Africa -- just as it has in developed nations. Despite early reports suggesting that adherence would not pose a major barrier to treatment success, more recent research shows that adherence rates in Africa are quite variable and often poor. Given the large number of patients whose disease will progress if adherence is suboptimal, research is urgently needed to determine patient-level behavioral barriers to adherence and the most effective and appropriate methods for assessing adherence in African cohorts.

Africa South of the Sahara↗

PubMed1998

Violence and severe mental illness: the effects of substance abuse and nonadherence to medication.

OBJECTIVE: Violent behavior among individuals with severe mental illness has become an important focus in community-based care. This study examines the joint effect of substance abuse and medication noncompliance on the greater risk of serious violence among persons with severe mental illness. METHOD: Involuntarily admitted inpatients with severe mental illness who were awaiting a period of outpatient commitment were enrolled in a longitudinal outcome study. At baseline, 331 subjects underwent an extensive face-to-face interview. Complementary data were gathered by a review of hospital records and a telephone interview with a family member or other informant. These data included subjects' sociodemographic characteristics, illness history, clinical status, medication adherence, substance abuse, insight into illness, and violent behavior during the 4 months that preceded hospitalization. Associations between serious violent acts and a range of individual characteristics and problems were analyzed by using multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: The combination of medication noncompliance and alcohol or substance abuse problems was significantly associated with serious violent acts in the community, after sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were controlled. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol or other drug abuse problems combined with poor adherence to medication may signal a higher risk of violent behavior among persons with severe mental illness. Reduction of such risk may require carefully targeted community interventions, including integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Adherence to antiretroviral therapy in HIV-infected pediatric patients improves with home-based intensive nursing intervention.

Adherence to combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) has been shown to be a determining factor in controlling viral replication, maintaining immunologic function and long-term survival in HIV-positive individuals. Little information is available on strategies to improve adherence in pediatric HIV-infected patients. We conducted a randomized, nonblinded, pilot study to determine if a home-based nursing intervention would improve medication adherence. The study was offered to all eligible HIV-positive patients receiving care at Connecticut Children's Medical Center's (CCMC) Pediatric and Youth HIV Program. Sixty-seven percent (37/55) of the patients and their caretakers participated. We randomized participants to either standard of care or the intervention trial. The intervention was designed to improve knowledge and understanding of HIV infection and HIV medications and to resolve or modify barriers to adherence. Both groups completed pre- and post-intervention questionnaires, assessing their knowledge and understanding of HIV, ART, and adherence. Adherence was estimated objectively from medication refill history and subjectively from a self-report score. We also inferred adherence from pre- to post-test plasma viral load and CD4+ T-cell percentages. The knowledge score (p = 0.02) and medication refill history (p = 0.002) improved significantly in the intervention group. The adherence self-report score improved, although not significantly (p = 0.07). We did not observe statistical differences in CD4+ T-cell counts or viral load between groups. We conclude that our home-based nursing intervention helped HIV-positive children and their families in better adhering to prescribed medication regimens.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Relationship of gender, depression, and health care delivery with antiretroviral adherence in HIV-infected drug users.

BACKGROUND: Antiretroviral adherence is worse in women than in men, and depression can influence medication adherence. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the relationship of gender, depression, medical care, and mental health care to adherence in HIV-infected drug users. DESIGN: Retrospective cohort study. SETTING: New York State Medicaid program. PARTICIPANTS: One thousand eight hundred twenty-seven female and 3,246 male drug users on combination antiretroviral therapy for more than 2 months in 1997. MAIN MEASURES: A pharmacy-based measure of adherence was defined as > or =95% days covered by at least 2 prescribed antiretroviral drugs. Independent variables were: depression, regular drug treatment (> or =6 months), regular medical care (2+ and >35% of visits), HIV-focused care (2+ visits), psychiatric care (2+ visits), and antidepressant therapy. RESULTS: Women were less adherent than men (18% vs 25%, respectively,P <.001) and more likely to be diagnosed with depression (34% vs 29%). In persons with depression, the adjusted odds ratio (AOR) for adherence was greater for those with psychiatric care alone (AOR 1.52; 95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.03 to 2.26) or combined with antidepressants (AOR 1.49; 95% CI, 1.04 to 2.15). In separate models by gender in persons with depression, psychiatric care plus antidepressants had a slightly stronger association with adherence in women (AOR 1.92; 95% CI, 1.00 to 3.68) than men (AOR, 1.26; 95% CI, 0.81 to 1.98). In drug users without depression, antidepressants alone were associated with greater adherence (AOR, 1.23; 95% CI, 1.02 to 1.49) with no difference by gender. Regular drug treatment was positively associated with adherence only in men. CONCLUSIONS: In this drug-using cohort, women had worse pharmacy-measured antiretroviral adherence than men. Mental health care was significantly associated with adherence in women, while regular drug treatment was positively associated with adherence in men.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Effects of physician communication style on client medication beliefs and adherence with antidepressant treatment.

The goals of this study were to examine how physician communication style impacts client beliefs and medication taking behavior during treatment for depression. The study uses a communication framework and prospective design to examine physician communication and client beliefs as treatment is initiated and again 2 months later. Two telephone interviews were conducted with 100 clients enrolled from 23 community pharmacies. Clients report that physician communication styles vary. In follow-up, 25% of the clients were not satisfied with their medication and 82% reported missing doses or stopping treatment earlier than recommended. Path analysis showed that physician initial communication style positively influences client knowledge and initial beliefs about the medication. Clients with more positive beliefs about the treatment are more likely to see the physician in follow-up and are more satisfied with treatment after attempting medication use. Physician follow-up communication style and client satisfaction are both predictive of better medication adherence.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Development of the purposeful action medication-taking questionnaire.

This three-phase study describes the development and psychometric properties of the Medication-Taking Questionnaire (MTQ) to measure the purposeful action domain (reasons individuals decide to accept medication treatment) in the medication adherence model for hypertension. During Phase I, items were evaluated for content validity and clarity. Item analysis, internal consistency, and exploratory factor analysis were preformed during Phase II to finalize the MTQ: Purposeful Action as 12 items and 2 subscales (treatment benefits and medication safety). Phase III evaluated the MTQ: Purposeful Action for temporal stability and construct validity. The final version MTQ: Purposeful Action demonstrated good internal consistency, temporal stability, and construct validity. The MTQ: Purposeful Action appears to have good psychometric characteristics that represent the decision-making process for adherence in medication treatment for hypertension.

Adult↗