Ethnic disparities in medication adherence? A systematic review examining the association between ethnicity and antidiabetic medication adherence

Patient-reported barriers for adherence to prophylactic enoxaparin after orthopedic trauma surgery

INTRODUCTION

Venous thromboembolism following orthopedic trauma surgery remains prevalent despite prophylaxis being a standard of care. Enoxaparin injection is a commonly utilized prophylaxis regimen among high-risk patients. Patient-reported rates of nonadherence and barriers to enoxaparin use are not described in the literature. A better understanding of these barriers and their impact on adherence to post-discharge prophylaxis regimens may shed light on persistent outcomes gaps.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were administered to adult patients prescribed prophylactic enoxaparin and presenting to orthopedic surgery outpatient clinic at an urban level 1 trauma center for a post-operative appointment following traumatic injury from April to July 2023. Patients self-reported their age, gender, race, and mobility. Inductive thematic analysis with three-reviewer consensus identified common barriers among responses. Adherence rates were calculated by dividing patients' estimated number of missed doses over total prescribed doses at the point of inquiry.

RESULTS

We identified 154 eligible patients through chart review, and 50 enrolled and interviewed. Participants had a mean age of 37 years. Of 50 participants, 20 identified as female; 25 identified as Black or African American, 16 as White, 5 as Hispanic, 2 as Asian, and 2 as multiracial. Twenty-one participants were non-ambulatory at time of interview. Mean and median patient-reported adherence were 64.5 % (SD 35.5) and 70.5 % (IQR 33-100) respectively. Five patients reported complete nonadherence, while 17 patients reported perfect adherence. Every participant reporting complete nonadherence identified as Black or African American, as compared to 8 out of 17 reporting perfect adherence. Despite acknowledging a twice-daily prescription, 17 patients reported once-daily rather than twice-daily use. Inductive thematic analysis revealed the following six barriers to prophylaxis adherence (number of participants reporting): Inconvenience (18 patients), Pain (16), Fear (12), Acquisition (7), Bruising (7), and Mechanism (7). Altogether, 40 patients endorsed at least one barrier to adherence.

DISCUSSION & CONCLUSIONS

Most patients face barriers to adherence with post-discharge prophylactic enoxaparin, and the resultant rates of adherence are low. This may contribute to persistent outcomes gaps in the orthopedic trauma population despite prophylaxis standards. Changes in prescribing patterns and patient engagement techniques may improve post-operative thromboembolic outcomes.

Characteristics associated with perceived level of confidence managing diabetes among United States adults with diabetes: A retrospective cross-sectional study

Objectives

Identifying characteristics associated with patients' confidence managing diabetes may aid the primary care provider in offering diabetes self-management education and support to patients. This analysis assessed the relationship between demographic, health, economic, access to care, satisfaction with care, and healthcare utilization characteristics with patients' confidence managing diabetes.

Methods

United States adults with diabetes in the 2020 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey were included in this retrospective cross-sectional analysis. Characteristics related statistically to patients' confidence managing diabetes in multivariable logistic regression analysis were reported.

Results

Among the 1,516 eligible individuals, 76.3% stated they were very confident/confident with their diabetes management. Adults who perceived their health positively (odds ratio 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.3-3.9), completed ≥30 min moderate/vigorous exercise five times weekly (odds ratio 1.6, 95% CI 1.0-2.6), had at least one inpatient discharge in 2020 (odds ratio 3.5, 95% CI 1.5-8.1), said it was not difficult to telephone their usual provider (odds ratio 3.3, 95% CI 1.4-7.8), and had no emergency room visits in 2020 (odds ratio 2, 95% CI 1.1-3.3) had higher odds of stating they were very confident or confident with their diabetes management.

Conclusion

The characteristics associated with being very confident/confident managing diabetes should be considered by primary healthcare physicians and other healthcare professionals when helping patients manage diabetes.

Priorities for health outcomes in glaucoma in an ethnically diverse UK cohort: an observational study

OBJECTIVES

To assess whether patients from minority ethnic groups have different perceptions about the quality-of-life outcomes that matter most to them.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING

High volume eye centres serving the most ethnically diverse region in the UK, recruiting from July 2021 to February 2022.

PARTICIPANTS

511 patients with primary open-angle glaucoma and the predisease state of ocular hypertension.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

The main outcome was participants' self-reported priorities for health outcomes.

RESULTS

Participants fell into one of four clusters with differing priorities for health outcomes, namely: (1) vision, (2) drop freedom, (3) intraocular pressure and (4) one-time treatment. Ethnicity was the strongest determinant of cluster membership after adjusting for potential confounders. Compared with white patients prioritising vision alone, the OR for black/black British patients was 7.31 (95% CI 3.43 to 15.57, p<0.001) for prioritising drop freedom; 5.95 (2.91 to 12.16, p<0.001) for intraocular pressure; and 2.99 (1.44 to 6.18, p=0.003) for one-time treatment. For Asian/Asian British patients, the OR was 3.17 (1.12 to 8.96, p=0.030) for prioritising intraocular pressure as highly as vision. Other ethnic minority groups also had higher ORs for prioritising health outcomes other than vision alone: 4.50 (1.03 to 19.63, p=0.045) for drop freedom and 5.37 (1.47 to 19.60, p=0.011) for intraocular pressure.

CONCLUSIONS

Ethnicity is strongly associated with differing perceptions about the health outcomes that matter. An individualised and ethnically inclusive approach is needed when selecting and evaluating treatments in clinical and research settings.

Comparative analysis of hospitalization risk for incident heart failure in non-Hispanic Black versus non-Hispanic White individuals with type 2 diabetes on empagliflozin (Empa-AA): Insights from real-world data

AIM

There are limited data to evaluate hospitalization for heart failure (hHF) in non-Hispanic Black (hereafter Black) or non-Hispanic White (hereafter White) individuals without previous hHF. Our goal was to evaluate the risk of hHF among Black versus White patients with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) who were initially prescribed empagliflozin using real-world data.

METHODS

This multicentre retrospective cohort study included participants aged ≥18 years who had T2DM, were either Black or White, had no previous hHF, and were prescribed empagliflozin between August 2014 and December 2019. Our primary outcome was time to first hHF after the initial prescription of empagliflozin. A propensity-score (PS)-weighted analysis was performed to balance characteristics by race. The inverse probability treatment weighting method based on PS was used to make treatment comparisons. To compare Black with White, a PS-weighted Cox's cause-specific hazards model was used.

RESULTS

In total, 8789 participants were eligible for inclusion (Black = 3216 vs. White = 5573). The Black cohort was significantly younger, had a higher proportion of females, and had a higher prevalence of chronic kidney disease, hypertension and diabetic retinopathy, while the White cohort had a higher prevalence of coronary artery disease. After adjustment for confounding factors such as age, gender, coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetic retinopathy, the hazard ratio for first-time hHF was not significantly different between the two racial groups [hazard ratio (95% confidence interval) = 1.09 (0.84-1.42), p = .52].

CONCLUSION

This study showed no significant difference in incident hHF among Black versus White individuals with T2DM following a prescription for empagliflozin.

Online health information behaviour and its association with statin adherence in patients with high cardiovascular risk: A prospective cohort study

Objective

Statins are effective for preventing cardiovascular disease. However, many patients decide not to take statins because of negative influences, such as online misinformation. Online health information may affect decisions on medication adherence, but measuring it is challenging. This study aimed to examine the associations between online health information behaviour and statin adherence in patients with high cardiovascular risk.

Methods

A prospective cohort study involving 233 patients with high cardiovascular risk was conducted at a primary care clinic in Malaysia. Participants used a digital information diary tool to record online health information they encountered for 2 months and completed a questionnaire about statin necessity, concerns and adherence at the end of the observation period. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling.

Results

The results showed that 55.8% (130 of 233 patients) encountered online health information. Patients who actively sought online health information (91 of 233 patients) had higher concerns about statin use (β = 0.323, p = 0.023). Participants with higher concern about statin use were also more likely to be non-adherent (β = -0.337, p < 0.001). Patients who actively sought online health information were more likely to have lower statin adherence, mediated by higher concerns about statin use (indirect effect, β = -0.109, p = 0.048).

Conclusions

Our results suggest that patients with higher levels of concern about statins may be actively seeking online information about statins, and their concerns might influence how they search, what they find, and the potential to encounter misinformation. Our study highlights the importance of addressing patients' concerns about medications to improve adherence.

Living with polypharmacy: a narrative interview study with older Pakistanis in East London

BACKGROUND

Polypharmacy is a growing and major public health issue. It can be burdensome and risky for patients and costly to healthcare systems. Older adults and those from ethnic minority backgrounds are disproportionately affected by polypharmacy. This study focuses on medication practices among Urdu-speaking Pakistani patients, a significant ethnic group in the UK. Most existing research on medication practices within South-Asian communities centres on adherence, leaving the social and moral dimensions of polypharmacy unpacked. Understanding how British Pakistani patients understand and manage polypharmacy in the context of their daily lives is crucial to avoiding harmful polypharmacy.

METHODS

In-depth narrative interviews were conducted with 15 first-generation Pakistani patients using the Biographical Narrative Interview Method. Participants were recruited from GP practices in East London. All participants were prescribed ten or more regular medications (a pragmatic marker of 'higher risk' polypharmacy) and were aged over 50. Interviews were conducted with a bilingual researcher at home and were designed to elicit narratives of patients' experiences of polypharmacy in the context of their biographies and daily lives.

RESULTS

Polypharmacy is enacted through networks of interpersonal and socio-material relationships. The doctor-patient relationship and the family network held particular significance to study participants. In addition, participants described emotional bonds between themselves and their medicines, identifying them as 'forces for good'-substances which allowed them to maintain their health through the intercession of God. Meanings attributed to medicines and enacted through these social, emotional, and spiritual relationships contributed to emerging and sustaining polypharmacy.

CONCLUSIONS

Patients make sense of and manage treatments in culturally specific ways. Developing an understanding of how medication practices in different communities are enacted is important for informing meaningful and effective conversations with patients about their medicines. Our findings contribute to enabling the integration of culturally sensitive approaches to prescribing.