Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence in Ethnically Diverse Patients: A Narrative Systematic Review

Ethnically diverse patients often have lower medication adherence relative to Whites. Certain ethnic groups are also more susceptible to cardiovascular and related diseases. It is critical to develop culturally tailored interventions to improve medication adherence in these ethnically diverse patients. Thus, the aim of this systematic review was to identify what interventions have been developed and tested to improve medication adherence in ethnically diverse patients with cardiovascular-related diseases.

A systematic search of peer-reviewed literature (MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials) was conducted to identify relevant articles. The narrative synthesis was performed based on elements offered by Popay et al. The mixed methods appraisal tool was used to appraise the quality of the included studies.

A total of 11,294 records were retrieved, and 34 articles met the inclusion criteria for this systematic review. Synthesis of the literature revealed four overarching intervention strategies used to improve medication adherence: pharmacist-mediated, primarily nurse-led, community-based and community-health worker led, and text-message and phone-based.

Several approaches can be used to improve medication adherence in ethnically diverse patients, although details on the approaches and conditions to produce optimal improvements for particular ethnic groups need to be determined in future studies. How does this affect culturally congruent health care?