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Determinants of compliance with methylphenidate therapy in children
Author(s) -
HUGTENBURG JACQUELINE G.,
WITTE IVO,
HEERDINK EIBERT R.
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1080/08035250600746310
Subject(s) - methylphenidate , medicine , compliance (psychology) , pediatrics , drug compliance , drug , patient compliance , psychiatry , family medicine , intensive care medicine , attention deficit hyperactivity disorder , psychology , social psychology
Aim : To get more insight into factors that influence compliance with the use of methylphenidate. Methods: 22 pharmacies detected children who used methylphenidate. Their parents were sent a questionnaire on the use of methylphenidate. In a case‐control study, the influence of patient‐ and drug‐related factors on compliance, as reported by parents, was determined. Results : Parents returned 117 (75%) of 157 questionnaires sent out. Of these, 47.8% of the children missed a dose two times a month or more. Forgetting to take the medication (87.9%) was the most important reason. The case‐control study showed that children of 16–18 y were more likely to miss doses. Other patient‐ and drug‐related factors did not influence the missing of doses. Conclusion : A number of known determinants for compliance do not influence the missing of doses of methylphenidate. With about 80% of the parents reporting that their child missed doses of methylphenidate less than 5 times per month, compliance was quite good for the majority of the children.