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COPD: understanding patients' adherence to inhaled medications
António Duarte-de-Araújo1,2,3, Pedro Teixeira1,2, Venceslau Hespanhol4,5
1Life and Health Sciences Research Institute (ICVS), School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, duartearaujodr@sapo.pt.
International Journal of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
|September 21, 2018
Summary
Patient adherence to inhaled medications for Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) is linked to smoking status and disease severity. Understanding patient beliefs and behaviors is key to improving COPD treatment adherence.
Area of Science:
- Pulmonology
- Pharmacology
- Health Psychology
Background:
- Adherence to inhaled medications in Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) patients is a critical yet understudied issue.
- Patient-related factors significantly influence the effectiveness of COPD management strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize adherence to inhaled medications among COPD patients.
- To identify patient-related determinants influencing medication adherence in COPD.
Main Methods:
- Cross-sectional study involving stable COPD outpatients (≥40 years).
- Utilized Measure of Treatment Adherence (MTA), Beliefs about Medications Questionnaire (BMQ), and semi-structured interviews.
- Combined quantitative and qualitative analyses of adherence patterns and determinants.
Main Results:
- 31.3% of patients exhibited poor adherence and 16.7% non-adherence to inhaled therapy.
- Poor adherence was significantly associated with current smoking status (P=0.044) and lower FEV1% (P=0.000).
- Adherent patients reported higher BMQ Necessity scores (P=0.000), while Concern scores were similar.
Conclusions:
- Adherence is influenced by perceived medication necessity and disease severity (airflow limitation).
- Non-adherent patients are often current smokers with lower perception of medication need.
- Patient-related determinants include health experiences, behaviors, and beliefs.