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Improving Beliefs About Medication in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis

Improving Beliefs About Medication in Patients With Rheumatoid Arthritis: Randomized Controlled Study Into the Effect of a Motivational Patient-centered Intervention for Non-adherent Patients Compared to Usual Care Controls

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT00968266
Enrollment
120
Registered
2009-08-28
Start date
2009-09-30
Completion date
2012-04-30
Last updated
2023-12-15

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Musculoskeletal Diseases, Rheumatoid Arthritis

Keywords

Adherence, Compliance, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Intervention, Beliefs about medication, Motivational Interviewing, Medication adherence, Patient compliance, Intervention studies

Brief summary

The purpose of this study is to determine if a short motivational patient-centered intervention for non-adherent patients is more successful in improving beliefs about medication (and adherence) compared to a usual care control group of non-adherent patients.

Detailed description

Disease Modifying Anti Rheumatic Drugs (DMARDs) reduce disease activity and radiological progression and improve long term functional outcome in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). However, adherence is a prerequisite for a drug to be effective. A previous study showed that 33% of the RA-patients using DMARDs are non-adherent. Non-adherence can not be attributed to a single cause, but is the result of a complex and individual decision process. An intervention should not only consider practical barriers, such as forgetfulness, but also cognitive and other psychological variables that might impact medication adherence. Therefore, an intervention was developed focusing primarily on the non-adherent patient's individual beliefs and barriers to adherence. The effectiveness of this intervention will be evaluated in a randomized clinical trial. Primary outcome measure is beliefs about medication assessed with the Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ). Additionally, adherence and adherence-related variables will be measured with questionnaires.

Interventions

BEHAVIORALPatient-centered group intervention

Session 1: Group discussion about the personal barriers for medication adherence. Supervisor: Pharmacist. Duration: 90 minutes. Goal: After this session the patient is aware of the benefits and barriers of adherence. The individual barriers to adherence (concerns and practical problems) and necessity beliefs about medication are identified and discussed. Session 2: Group based education on benefits of medication and discussing personal concerns about medication, practical barriers and beliefs about the necessity of medication. Supervisor: Pharmacist and rheumatologist. Duration: 90 minutes. Goal: Improving realistic beliefs about medication, stimulating an equal relationship between patient and health professional and motivating patients to be adherent.

Sponsors

Radboud University Medical Center
CollaboratorOTHER
Sint Maartenskliniek
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* RA according to the 1986 ACR criteria for at least 1 year * Prescription of anti-rheumatic medication (DMARDs) * Non-adherent patients (Compliance Questionnaire Rheumatology)

Exclusion criteria

* Co-morbidity (physical or psychological) that unables patient to participate in the intervention * Illiteracy * Inability to communicate in Dutch * Participation in other studies with significant burden

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frame
Beliefs about medication, which is measured with Beliefs about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ)3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)

Secondary

MeasureTime frame
Adherence, measured with Compliance Questionnaire Rheumatology (CQR), Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS) and refill rates3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)
Self-efficacy, measured with Arthritis Self Efficacy Scale3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)
Satisfaction with information about medication, measured with Satisfaction with Information about Medicines Scale (SIMS)3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)
Physical functioning, measured with Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ), Rheumatoid Arthritis Disease Activity Index (RADAI) and Visual Analogue Scale Pain (VAS Pain)3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)
Psychological functioning, measured with Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ)3 weeks before first intervention session (T0), 2 weeks after first intervention session (T1), 6 months after first intervention session (T3), 12 months after first intervention session (T4)

Countries

Netherlands

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026