Factors Associated With Nonadherence to Cardiovascular Medications: A Cross-sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular medications have well-established benefits in the primary and secondary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. Unfortunately, adherence to these medicines is often suboptimal. To develop interventions intended to enhance adherence to cardiovascular medications, more insight is needed into the complex character of medication nonadherence. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to identify which factors are associated with nonadherence to cardiovascular medications in a sample of patients from Dutch community pharmacies. METHODS: In this cross-sectional study, patients using cardiovascular medications from 23 community pharmacies were included. Patient demographics, medication and disease characteristics, knowledge, quality of life, attitude toward medicines, and satisfaction with information were assessed. Both an adherent sample (n = 146) and a sample of patients nonadherent to prescribed medications (n = 109) during the last 6 months as assessed with pharmacy refill data (proportion of days covered <80%) were selected. Associations with refill nonadherence were assessed using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. RESULTS: In total, 255 patients participated (53.3% men, 71.6 ± 10.9 years). Factors associated with cardiovascular medication nonadherence in multivariate analyses included experiencing difficulties with medication use due to forgetting, having insufficient knowledge on what to do when a dose is forgotten, and having an ambivalent attitude toward medicines (beliefs of high necessity and high concerns). CONCLUSIONS: Intervention strategies to enhance cardiovascular medication nonadherence should be targeted mainly to the unintentional dimension of nonadherence and include information and tools to prevent forgetting. Conversely, the influence of factors that underlie intentional nonadherence, particularly patients' beliefs about medicines, should also be addressed.

What features do Dutch university students prefer in a smartphone application for promotion of physical activity? A qualitative approach.

BACKGROUND: The transition from adolescence to early adulthood is a critical period in which there is a decline in physical activity (PA). College and university students make up a large segment of this age group. Smartphones may be used to promote and support PA. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore Dutch students' preferences regarding a PA application (PA app) for smartphones. METHODS: Thirty Dutch students (aged 18-25 years) used a PA app for three weeks and subsequently attended a focus group discussion (k = 5). To streamline the discussion, a discussion guide was developed covering seven main topics, including general app usage, usage and appreciation of the PA app, appreciation of and preferences for its features and the sharing of PA accomplishments through social media. The discussions were audio and video recorded, transcribed and analysed according to conventional content analysis. RESULTS: The participants, aged 21 ± 2 years, were primarily female (67%). Several themes emerged: app usage, technical aspects, PA assessment, coaching aspects and sharing through social media. Participants most often used social networking apps (e.g., Facebook or Twitter), communication apps (e.g., WhatsApp) and content apps (e.g., news reports or weather forecasts). They preferred a simple and structured layout without unnecessary features. Ideally, the PA app should enable users to tailor it to their personal preferences by including the ability to hide features. Participants preferred a companion website for detailed information about their accomplishments and progress, and they liked tracking their workout using GPS. They preferred PA apps that coached and motivated them and provided tailored feedback toward personally set goals. They appreciated PA apps that enabled competition with friends by ranking or earning rewards, but only if the reward system was transparent. They were not willing to share their regular PA accomplishments through social media unless they were exceptionally positive. CONCLUSIONS: Participants prefer PA apps that coach and motivate them, that provide tailored feedback toward personally set goals and that allow competition with friends.

Implementation fidelity of an intervention programme to enhance adherence to antihypertensive medication in Dutch community pharmacies.

Background Insight into the delivery of interventions is necessary to gain a better understanding of what caused an intervention to succeed or fail. The Cardiovascular medication non-Adherence Tailored Intervention (CATI) study failed to show effectiveness of a patient-tailored, pharmacist-led intervention programme on self-reported adherence to antihypertensive medication. Objective To evaluate the implementation fidelity of the CATI intervention programme. Setting Twenty Dutch community pharmacies. Method The process of a randomised controlled trial was evaluated. Both quantitative and qualitative data were collected and analysed according to Carrolls' Conceptual Framework for Implementation Fidelity. Implementation fidelity is defined as the degree to which the intervention was implemented as intended. Main outcome measure Four key intervention components of the intervention programme (i.e., first consultation: barrier identification, information and advice, written summary, and follow-up consultation). Results For most participants the key intervention components were implemented as intended. The training of pharmacists, intensive monitoring during the study and structured and easy-to-use intervention materials facilitated the implementation of the intervention. The method to select participants for the intervention programme was considered insufficient and pharmacists questioned the eligibility of some participants because of a low degree of intake non-adherence. Conclusion Implementation fidelity was moderate to high for all key intervention components. Therefore, the absence of effectiveness of the CATI intervention programme on self-reported medication adherence cannot be explained by poor implementation of the intervention. However, the limited genuine eligibility of some participants resulted in a limited potential for improvement in medication adherence.

The Cost-Effectiveness of an Intervention Program to Enhance Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication in Comparison With Usual Care in Community Pharmacies.

Introduction: Hypertension is considered an important public health issue. Inadequate disease management and non-adherence to antihypertensive medication may result in suboptimal clinical outcomes thereby imposing a financial burden on society. This study evaluates the cost-effectiveness of a patient-tailored, pharmacist-led intervention program aimed to enhance adherence to antihypertensive medication in comparison with usual care. Materials and Methods: An economic evaluation was conducted alongside a pragmatic randomized controlled trial with 9-months follow-up among 170 patients using antihypertensive medication. Effect outcomes included self-reported adherence (MARS-5), beliefs about medicines (BMQ Concern and Necessity scales) and quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs). Costs were measured from a societal perspective. Missing cost and effect data were imputed using multiple imputation. Bootstrapping was used to estimate uncertainty around the cost-differences and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratios. Cost-effectiveness planes and acceptability curves were estimated. Results: There were no significant differences in costs or effects between the intervention program and usual care. The probability of cost-effectiveness of the intervention in comparison with usual care was 0.27 at a willingness-to-pay value of 0 €/unit of effect gained. At a willingness-to-pay value of 20,000 €/unit of effect gained, the probability of cost-effectiveness was 0.70, 0.27, 0.64, 0.87, and 0.36 for the continuous MARS-5 score, dichotomized MARS-5 score, BMQ Concern scale, BMQ Necessity scale and QALYs, respectively. Discussion: In patients with hypertension, the patient-tailored, pharmacist-led intervention program to enhance medication adherence was not considered cost-effective as compared to usual care with regard to self-reported medication adherence, beliefs about medicines and QALYs.

Effectiveness of a Patient-Tailored, Pharmacist-Led Intervention Program to Enhance Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication: The CATI Study.

Introduction: Non-adherence to medication is a complex health care problem. In spite of substantial efforts, up till now little progress has been made to effectively tackle the problem with adherence-enhancing interventions. The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a patient-tailored, pharmacist-led and theory-driven intervention program aimed to enhance self-reported adherence to antihypertensive medication. Materials and Methods: A parallel-group randomized controlled trial in 20 community pharmacies with nine months follow-up was conducted. Patients (45-75 years) using antihypertensive medication and considered non-adherent based on both pharmacy dispensing data and a self-report questionnaire were eligible to participate. The intervention program consisted of two consultations with the pharmacist to identify participants' barriers to adhere to medication and to counsel participants in overcoming these barriers. The primary outcome was self-reported medication adherence. Secondary outcomes were beliefs about medicines, illness perceptions, quality of life and blood pressure. Mixed-model and generalized estimating equation (GEE) analyses were used to assess overall effects of the intervention program and effects per time point. Results: 170 patients were included. No significant differences between intervention and control groups were found in self-reported adherence, quality of life, illness perceptions, beliefs about medicines (concern scale), and blood pressure. After nine months, intervention participants had significantly stronger beliefs about the necessity of using their medicines as compared to control participants (mean difference 1.25 [95% CI: 0.27 to 2.24], p = 0.012). Discussion: We do not recommend to implement the intervention program in the current form for this study population. Future studies should focus on how to select eligible patient groups with appropriate measures in order to effectively target adherence-enhancing interventions. Trial Register: NTR5017 http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/admin/rctview.asp?TC=5017.

The impact of cardiovascular medication use on patients' daily lives: a cross-sectional study.

Background The management of multiple long-term medicines of patients with chronic diseases creates a burden for patients. However, limited research is performed on its impact on patients' daily lives. Objective The aim of this study was to explore the impact of cardiovascular medication on different daily life aspects and to examine differences of these aspects between adherent and non-adherent patients. Setting Two community pharmacies in the Netherlands. Method In this cross-sectional study patients (≥ 45 years) using cardiovascular medication participated. Two equally group sized samples of patients non-adherent as assessed with pharmacy refill data, and patients adherent were selected. Main outcome measure Data were collected by means of the Living with Medicines Questionnaire measuring the impact of medicines use on patients' daily lives. Results In total, 196 patients participated, including 96 non-adherent patients. Substantial proportions of patients experienced medication-related burden on different daily life aspects. This burden was mainly related to the acceptance of long-term medicine use, medication-related concerns or dissatisfaction, the interference of medicines with social and daily lives, and the interaction and communication with health care providers. No statistically significant results were found when comparing the impact on patients' daily lives between adherent and nonadherent patients. Conclusion Health care providers should acknowledge the impact of multiple long-term medicines on patient's daily lives and should make an effort to diminish patients' medication-related burden by improving patient-provider relationships and by providing adequate treatment information incorporating patients' individual circumstances. This may facilitate the integration of long-term medicine use in patients' daily lives.

The (cost-)effectiveness of a patient-tailored intervention programme to enhance adherence to antihypertensive medication in community pharmacies: study protocol of a randomised controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Medication non-adherence is a complex health care problem. Due to non-adherence, substantial numbers of cardiovascular patients benefit from their medication to only a limited extent. In order to improve adherence, a variety of pharmacist-led interventions have been developed. However, even the most effective interventions achieved only a modest positive effect. To be effective, interventions should be targeted at underlying barriers to adherence, developed in a systematic manner and tailored to specific features of a target group and setting. The current paper describes the design of the Cardiovascular medication non-Adherence Tailored Intervention (CATI) study aimed to evaluate the (cost-)effectiveness of a patient-tailored intervention programme in patients using antihypertensive medication. METHODS: The CATI study is a randomised controlled trial that will be performed in 13 community pharmacies. Patients aged 45-75 years using antihypertensive medication and considered non-adherent according to pharmacy dispensing data, as well according to a self-report questionnaire, are eligible to participate. Patients in the intervention condition will receive a patient-tailored, pharmacist-led intervention programme. This programme consists of a structured interview at the pharmacy to identify patients' barriers to adherence and to counsel patients in order to overcome these barriers. The primary outcome is self-reported medication adherence measured with the MARS-5 questionnaire. Secondary outcome measures are blood pressure, illness perceptions, quality of life and societal costs. A cost-effectiveness analysis and process evaluation will also be performed. DISCUSSION: This study will provide insight into the (cost-)effectiveness of a patient-tailored, pharmacist-led intervention programme in non-adherent patients using antihypertensive medication. This intervention programme allows community pharmacists to support their patients in overcoming barriers to adherence and improving medication adherence in a structured and patient-tailored manner. An effective intervention will not only enhance medication adherence, but may also improve health outcomes and decrease health care utilisation and costs. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Netherlands Trial Register (identifier: NTR5017), registered on 2 February 2015.