“What factors influence medication adherence in people with long term conditions, and how can these inform an intervention to support adherence to medications in the primary care setting?”

A longitudinal qualitative research project

Aims:

The aims of this project are to explore:

1. what factors and processes influence adherence to medications, and
2. whether and how an intervention could address these factors and processes to support medication adherence in people with long term conditions.

Methods:

Two sets of qualitative interviews will be conducted with people with long term conditions and two set of interviews will be conducted with health care providers.

The aim of the first set of interviews is to explore what factors influence medication adherence in people with long term conditions

The aim of the second set of interviews is to explore whether and how an intervention could address these factors and support medication adherence to people with long term conditions.

Expected outcomes:

• This study will explore what factors influence medication adherence in people with long term conditions and how an intervention could facilitate medication adherence via the primary care (PC) practice.
• The interviews with people with long term conditions will provide insight on what factors currently affect medication adherence, and what kind of intervention could facilitate medication adherence.
• The interviews with health care providers will provide information on what is currently done to support medication adherence, and will explore the acceptability of an intervention delivered in primary care.
• The results will inform the development of a feasibility trial (RCT) of an intervention to support medication adherence in primary care.

Contact details:

Dr Katerina Kassavou

Behavioural Science Group
The Primary Care Unit
Department of Public Health & Primary Care
University of Cambridge
Forvie Site, Robinson Way
Cambridge, CB2 0SR
Telephone: 01223330456,

Email: kk532@medschl.cam.ac.uk