Effect of Occupational Therapy in Promoting Medication Adherence in Primary Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Area of Science:

• Occupational therapy
• Primary care
• Chronic disease management

Background:

• Medication adherence is crucial for managing chronic conditions like hypertension and Type 2 diabetes.
• The Integrative Medication Self-Management Intervention (IMedS) is an occupational therapy approach designed to enhance medication adherence.
• The efficacy of IMedS in a community clinical setting needed evaluation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of the IMedS intervention in improving medication adherence rates among community-dwelling adults diagnosed with hypertension (HTN), Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), or both conditions.

Main Methods:

• A randomized controlled trial with a pretest-posttest control group design was employed.
• The study was conducted in a primary care clinic within a federally qualified health center.
• Participants with uncontrolled HTN, T2DM, or both were randomized to either treatment as usual (TAU) or TAU plus the IMedS intervention.

Main Results:

• While both groups showed increased adherence, the IMedS group demonstrated a statistically significant positive effect on the Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale (ARMS-7) (dc = 0.65) and pill counts (d = 0.55) compared to the TAU group.
• Post hoc analyses indicated a unique positive impact of the occupational therapy intervention on medication adherence measures.

Conclusions:

• Occupational therapists can effectively implement interventions within primary care settings to improve patient medication adherence.
• The findings highlight the valuable role of occupational therapists as part of interdisciplinary primary care teams in managing medication adherence.