Beliefs and practices of Greek doctors in relation to patients' adherence to antihypertensive medication

Assessing a Pharmacist-Enabled Intervention to Improve Adherence to Medication for Hypertension, Dyslipidemia, and Chronic Venous Circulation Disorders in Greece

Background

Adherence to medication in chronic conditions may be influenced by interventions from pharmacists. This study aimed to assess the impact of guidance and reminders from pharmacists on adherence to medication for hypertension, dyslipidemia, and chronic venous circulation disorders (CVCD) in Greece.

Methods

The prospective CONCORD study aimed to record and report on change in self-reported adherence to medication following pharmacist reminders amongst a cohort of adult patients, diagnosed with at least one or a combination of these health conditions. All study participants were regular patients of a network of pharmacies in Attica and southern Greece. Pharmacists were trained to provide adherence reminders over 4 months. Impact on self-reported adherence of the intervention was reported at baseline and again in month 4.

Results

Of the 1146 participants, 48% were men and 60% were aged 55-74 years. Among them, 23.7% were diagnosed with hypertension, 16.5% with dyslipidemia, 3% with CVCD, 42.5% with hypertension and dyslipidemia, 3.1% with hypertension and CVCD, 2.6% with dyslipidemia and CVCD, and 8.6% with dyslipidemia, hypertension, and CVCD. In month 4 vs month 0, patients were less likely to forget to take their prescribed medications (p<0.001), to be careless about their medications during the last 30 days (p<0.001), and to temporarily discontinue their medications without prior doctor's advice (p<0.001). Patients with CVCD were more prone to lower self-reported adherence compared to patients who were not diagnosed with CVCD or a combination of conditions that included CVCD.

Discussion

Reminders and advice from pharmacists resulted in higher adherence to medication amongst participants in month 4 versus month 0.

Conclusion

Pharmacist-enabled interventions, including reminders and advice, following targeted training, may positively impact on patient medication adherence in chronic health conditions.

Hypertension doctors' awareness and practice of medication adherence in hypertensive patients: a questionnaire-based survey

Background

Poor adherence to antihypertensive drugs is a major cause of unsatisfactory blood pressure control. Hypertension doctors play an integral role in improving medication adherence in hypertensive patients. Although most existing studies have recognized the status quo and influencing factors of medication adherence, little attention has been paid to hypertension doctors' awareness and practice in hypertension management. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to investigate hypertension doctors' awareness and practice of medication adherence in hypertensive patients.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional survey. A self-reported questionnaire was developed and sent to hypertension doctors in Hunan province, China, between May 1, 2022 and July 1, 2022. Univariate and generalized linear models were used to identify the factors influencing hypertension doctors' awareness and practice. The correlation between awareness and practice was determined using Spearman's correlation coefficient.

Results

In total, 236 valid questionnaires were collected (valid response rate, 73.5%). Of the respondents, 44.1% were chief physicians and 64.4% were females. Approximately half of the respondents were ≥40 years old and had over 14 years of working experience. Most respondents (87.7%) did not have hypertension, but 54.2% had a family history of hypertension. The average awareness and practice scores were 29.8 ± 8.8 and 39.4 ± 7.1, respectively, out of 50, with higher scores indicating higher levels of awareness or practice. More hypertension consultations and more antihypertensive prescriptions issued were associated with better awareness and practice among respondents (ps < 0.05). Respondents with higher education and professional titles had higher awareness (ps < 0.05). Moreover, respondents with 6-13 years of work experience had better practice than those with <5 years of work experience (p = 0.017). There was a significant correlation between hypertension doctors' awareness and practice of medication adherence in hypertensive patients (R = 0.682, p < 0.001). These findings indicate that misconceptions persist in hypertension doctors' awareness and practice of patient medication adherence.

Conclusion

Hypertension doctors lack sufficient and correct awareness and practice of medication adherence in hypertensive patients.

The Impact of Treatment-Related Internet Health Information Seeking on Patient Compliance

Background: Patients are increasingly using technology to seek health information, particularly on treatments. Treatment-related internet health information-seeking behavior may have impact on patients' trust in their physicians and the patient-physician relationship. Therefore, understanding the impacts of treatment-related internet health information-seeking behavior on patient-physician relationship, especially patient compliance, from the perspective of trust is important. Methods: The established research model has two independent variables (emerging and mature treatment-related internet health information seeking), two mediators (cognition- and affect-based trust), and one dependent variable (patient compliance). All variables were measured using previously validated multiple-item scales. We collected data through a web-based questionnaire survey in China and obtained 336 valid responses. The questionnaire validity rate was 89.6% (336/375), and reliability and validity were acceptable. Finally, we used confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses and develop the research model. Results: Cognition- and affect-based trust had a direct positive impact on patient compliance. Cognition-based trust had a direct positive impact on affect-based trust. Mature treatment-related internet health information seeking had a significant positive impact on patient compliance through patients' cognition- and affect-based trust in their physicians. However, the emerging treatment-related internet health information seeking indicated a nonsignificant impact on patients' cognition- and affect-based trust in their physicians. Conclusions: Providing patients with access to treatment-related internet health information will not have a negative impact on the patient-physician relationship. Instead, encouraging patients to seek treatment-related health information online can improve patient compliance. Physicians can also learn much about health information related to emerging treatments to enhance their professionalism and reliability.

Adherence of doctors to hypertension clinical guidelines in academy charity teaching hospital, Khartoum, Sudan

BACKGROUND

Clinical guidelines are systematically proven statements that help physicians to make healthcare decisions for specific medical conditions. Non-adherence to clinical guidelines is believed to contribute significantly to poor delivery of clinical care, and hence poor clinical outcomes. This study aimed at investigating adherence of doctors to hypertension clinical guidelines in Academy Charity Teaching Hospital, Khartoum, Sudan.

METHODS

A cross-sectional hospital-based study was conducted during the period from January 2017 to October 2017 on a sample of 150 doctors. Adherence of doctors to hypertension guidelines was measured through the modified JNC7 adherence tool. Descriptive statistics was used to summarize the data (mean, standard deviation, median) and analyzed by frequency tables. Chi square test used to determine association among categorized variables. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to determine the relation between adherence to hypertension guidelines and the explanatory variables. All statistical tests were considered statistically significant when p value < 0.05.

RESULTS

Of the 150 participants, 92% (138/150) were aware of the major hypertension treatment guidelines. 71% (98/138) reported the use of guidelines recommendations in their practice. Whereas 52% (78/150) were aware of local Sudanese guidelines. High adherence rate was highly statistically associated with job titles (p = 0.000), and also associated with age of the participants (p = 0.024) and duration of clinical experience (p = 0.012). However, the logistic regression analysis revealed despite all those variables were contributing to adherence to the treatment guidelines, only duration of clinical experience was statistically significant (p = 0.022).

CONCLUSION

The overall adherence of doctors to hypertension treatment guidelines was very low. This study highlights how a gap in clinical governance contributes to low adherence to clinical guidelines. Establishing regular clinical audit, issuing regulations to enforce the use of updated guidelines, along with introducing training programs in hospitals and continuous assessment to the practicing doctors are suggested as crucial interventions. Considerable efforts to build clinical governance in Sudan are required.

Impact of Physician-Patient Communication in Online Health Communities on Patient Compliance: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study

Background

In China, the utilization of medical resources is tense, and most hospitals are highly congested because of the large population and uneven distribution of medical resources. Online health communities (OHCs) play an important role in alleviating hospital congestions, thereby improving the utilization of medical resources and relieving medical resource shortages. OHCs have positive effects on physician-patient relationships and health outcomes. Moreover, as one of the main ways for patients to seek health-related information in OHCs, physician-patient communication may affect patient compliance in various ways. In consideration of the inevitable development of OHCs, although they have several shortcomings, identifying how physician-patient communication can impact patient compliance is important to improve patients’ health outcomes through OHCs.

Objective

This study aimed to investigate the impact of physician-patient communication on patient compliance in OHCs through the mediation of the perceived quality of internet health information, decision-making preference, and physician-patient concordance, using an empirical study based on the self-determination theory.

Methods

A research model was established, including 1 independent variable (physician-patient communication), 3 mediators (perceived quality of internet health information, decision-making preference, and physician-patient concordance), 1 dependent variable (patient compliance), and 4 control variables (age, gender, living area, and education level). Furthermore, a Web-based survey involving 423 valid responses was conducted in China to collect data, and structural equation modeling and partial least squares were adopted to analyze data and test the hypotheses.

Results

The questionnaire response rate was 79.2% (487/615) and the validity rate was 86.9% (423/487); reliability and validity are acceptable. The communication between physicians and patients in OHCs positively affects patient compliance through the mediation of the perceived quality of internet health information, decision-making preference, and physician-patient concordance. Moreover, physician-patient communication exhibits similar impacts on the perceived quality of internet health information, decision-making preference, and physician-patient concordance. Patients’ decision-making preference shows the weakest impact on patient compliance compared with the other 2 mediators. Ultimately, all 3 mediators play a partially mediating role between physician-patient communication and patient compliance.

Conclusions

We conclude that physician-patient communication in OHCs exhibits a positive impact on patient compliance; thus, patient compliance can be improved by guiding physician-patient communication in OHCs. Furthermore, our findings suggest that physicians can share high-quality health information with patients, discuss benefits, risks, and costs of treatment options with patients, encourage patients to express their attitudes and participate in health-related decision making, and strengthen the emotional connection with patients in OHCs, thereby decreasing patients’ misunderstanding of information and increasing concordance between physicians and patients. OHCs are required to not only strengthen the management of their published health information quality but also understand users’ actual attitudes toward information quality and then try to reduce the gap between the perceived and actual quality of information.

Why do patients follow physicians' advice? The influence of patients' regulatory focus on adherence: an empirical study in China

BACKGROUND

In general, medical regimens and treatments are more likely to be effective if patients follow their physicians' advice. However, limited studies have focused on the relationship between regulatory focus and patient adherence. This study explores the antecedents of patient adherence employing regulatory focus theory.

METHODS

This study established a research model consisting of two independent variables, two mediators, one dependent variable, two moderators, three control variables, and six hypotheses. An online survey involving 336 valid responses was conducted to collect data in China. We used structural equation modelling and confirmatory factor analysis to test the hypotheses and to develop the research model.

RESULTS

The reliability and validity of the measures were accepted. In terms of control variables, age had a positive effect on conservative treatment-related health information seeking behaviour, and patients with different resident statuses held different attitudes towards seeking conservative treatment-related health information. However, educational level did not have any effect on the variables of the research model. The hypothesis testing results corroborate that promotion focus had a positive impact on patients' emerging treatment-related health information seeking behaviour; prevention focus had a positive impact on patients' conservative treatment-related health information seeking behaviour, which had a positive impact on patient adherence. In addition, media campaigns had a positive impact on the relationship between promotion focus and emerging treatment-related health information seeking behaviour, and website reputation had a positive impact on the relationship between prevention focus and conservative treatment-related health information seeking behaviour.

CONCLUSIONS

Individuals can be encouraged to seek health information and share health-related knowledge through mass media, such as the Internet, when the quality of information, especially information from online sources, is guaranteed. In addition, physicians need to improve their professionalism and expand their knowledge of conservative healthcare. As a further application of our work, an Internet information recommendation system can be designed to recommend different types of health information for users according to their regulatory focus.

Relationship Between Internet Health Information and Patient Compliance Based on Trust: Empirical Study

Background

The internet has become a major mean for acquiring health information; however, Web-based health information is of mixed quality and may markedly affect patients’ health-related behavior and decisions. According to the social information processing theory, patients’ trust in their physicians may potentially change due to patients’ health-information-seeking behavior. Therefore, it is important to identify the relationship between internet health information and patient compliance from the perspective of trust.

Objective

The objective of our study was to investigate the effects of the quality and source of internet health information on patient compliance using an empirical study based on the social information processing theory and social exchange theory.

Methods

A Web-based survey involving 336 valid participants was conducted in China. The study included independent variables (internet health information quality and source of information), 2 mediators (cognition-based trust [CBT] and affect-based trust [ABT]), 1 dependent variable (patient compliance), and 3 control variables (gender, age, and job). All variables were measured using multiple-item scales from previously validated instruments, and confirmative factor analysis as well as structural equation modeling was used to test hypotheses.

Results

The questionnaire response rate was 77.16% (375/486), validity rate was 89.6% (336/375), and reliability and validity were acceptable. We found that the quality and source of internet health information affect patient compliance through the mediation of CBT and ABT. In addition, internet health information quality has a stronger influence on patient compliance than the source of information. However, CBT does not have any direct effect on patient compliance, but it directly affects ABT and then indirectly impacts patient compliance. Therefore, the effect of ABT seems stronger than that of CBT. We found an unexpected, nonsignificant relationship between the source of internet health information and ABT.

Conclusions

From patients’ perspective, internet health information quality plays a stronger role than its source in impacting their trust in physicians and the consequent compliance with physicians. Therefore, patient compliance can be improved by strengthening the management of internet health information quality. The study findings also suggest that physicians should focus on obtaining health information from health websites, thereby expanding their understanding of patients’ Web-based health-information-seeking preferences, and enriching their knowledge structure to show their specialization and reliability in the communication with patients. In addition, the mutual demonstration of care and respect in the communication between physicians and patients is important in promoting patients’ ABT in their physicians.