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Rapid Review of Medication Taking (Adherence) Among Patients With Rheumatic Diseases During the COVID‐19 Pandemic
Author(s) -
Rebić Nevena,
Park Jamie Y.,
Garg Ria,
Ellis Ursula,
Kelly Ayano,
Davidson Eileen,
De Vera Mary A.
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
arthritis care and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.032
H-Index - 163
eISSN - 2151-4658
pISSN - 2151-464X
DOI - 10.1002/acr.24744
Subject(s) - medicine , discontinuation , medical prescription , cinahl , pandemic , confidence interval , medline , family medicine , epidemiology , medication adherence , covid-19 , rheumatology , intensive care medicine , psychological intervention , psychiatry , pharmacology , disease , political science , infectious disease (medical specialty) , law
Objective We aimed to identify, appraise, synthesize, and contextualize rapidly emerging reports on medication taking (adherence) among patients with rheumatic diseases during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Methods We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL for peer‐reviewed communications, letters, and articles published during the COVID‐19 pandemic evaluating medication taking among individuals with rheumatic diseases. We appraised assessment and reporting of medication adherence according to established definitions of 3 distinct problems of medication taking (i.e., noninitiation, poor implementation, and discontinuation) and pooled findings using random‐effects models. Results We included 31 peer‐reviewed studies in our synthesis from various jurisdictions, of which 25 described medication taking among rheumatology patients and 6 described medication prescribing among rheumatology providers. The pooled prevalence of overall medication nonadherence was 14.8% (95% confidence interval [95% CI] 12.3–17.2) and that of medication discontinuation (i.e., stopping of prescriptions) and poor implementation (i.e., not taking medication at the dose/frequency prescribed) as 9.5% (95% CI 5.1–14.0) and 9.6% (95% CI 6.2–13.0), respectively. Noninitiation (i.e., not starting/not filling new prescriptions) was not addressed. Conclusion Medication taking among individuals with rheumatic diseases during the COVID‐19 pandemic varies globally. Unclear reporting and extensive variation in research methods between studies create barriers to research replication, comparison, and generalization to specific patient populations. Future research in this area should use consistent and transparent approaches to defining and measuring medication taking problems to ensure that findings appropriately describe the epidemiology of medication adherence and have the potential to identify modifiable targets for improving patient care.