Adherence to antihypertensives: feasibility of two self‐report instruments to investigate medication‐taking behaviour in German community pharmacies. (29th October 2012)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ude, Miriam; Leuner, Kristina; Schüssel, Katrin; Schulz, Martin; Müller, Walter E.
• Is Part Of: International journal of pharmacy practice. Volume 21:Number 3(2013:Jun.)
• Page Start: 169
• Page End: 177
• Publication Date: 2012-10-29
• Subjects: Pharmacy -- Practice -- Periodicals; 615.1
• DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-7174.2012.00248.x
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0961-7671

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="main"> <title>Abstract</title> <sec id="ijpp248-sec-0001" sec-type="section"> <title>Objective</title> <p>To design and test the feasibility of two questionnaires in German community pharmacies exploring self‐reported adherence to antihypertensives.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpp248-sec-0002" sec-type="section"> <title>Methods</title> <p>Two self‐report questionnaires were designed for patients treated with antihypertensives. The 29‐item‐questionnaire (long form, LF) was completed by pharmacists interviewing patients who were on the premises filling a prescription. The short form (SF; 19 items) was sent by pharmacies to patients via mail. The acceptance of the instruments by patients and pharmacists as well as the feasibility to measure medication‐taking behaviour was investigated. Adherence was investigated by using a modified 5‐(LF) or 6‐item (SF) Morisky score.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpp248-sec-0003" sec-type="section"> <title>Results</title> <p>Of 44 community pharmacies contacted, 18 agreed to participate. Patients' response rates were 428/915 (46.8%) for the SF and 249/760 (32.8%) for the LF. One hundred and seventy‐nine patients (41.8%) and 70 patients (28.1%) reported adherence problems according to the SF and LF respectively.</p> </sec> <sec id="ijpp248-sec-0004" sec-type="section"> <title>Conclusions</title> <p>To our knowledge, this is the first attempt to develop a self‐report instrument for the detection of non‐adherence in patients taking antihypertensives in this setting in Germany. Patients were willing to provide detailed information about their medication‐taking behaviour. Underestimation of non‐adherence may be more pronounced when applying the questionnaire in the pharmacy.</p> </sec> </abstract>