Open AccessAdherence to antihypertensives: feasibility of two self‐report instruments to investigate medication‐taking behaviour in G erman community pharmacies
Author(s) -
Ude Miriam,
Leuner Kristina,
Schüssel Katrin,
Schulz Martin,
Müller Walter E.
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
international journal of pharmacy practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.42
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 2042-7174
pISSN - 0961-7671
DOI - 10.1111/j.2042-7174.2012.00248.x
Subject(s) - medicine , pharmacy , medical prescription , medication adherence , interview , german , family medicine , community pharmacy , motivational interviewing , nursing , psychological intervention , archaeology , political science , law , history
Objective To design and test the feasibility of two questionnaires in G erman community pharmacies exploring self‐reported adherence to antihypertensives. Methods 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 ) M orisky score. Results 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. Conclusions 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 G ermany. 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.