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Assessing methods of measuring medication adherence in chronically ill children–a narrative review
Authors Al-Hassany L, Kloosterboer SM, Dierckx B, Koch BCP
Received 1 January 2019
Accepted for publication 13 April 2019
Published 22 July 2019 Volume 2019:13 Pages 1175—1189
DOI https://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S200058
Checked for plagiarism Yes
Review by Single-blind
Peer reviewers approved by Dr Amy Norman
Peer reviewer comments 2
Editor who approved publication: Dr Johnny Chen
Linda Al-Hassany,1 Sanne M Kloosterboer,1 Bram Dierckx,2 Birgit CP Koch1
1Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department of Hospital Pharmacy, Rotterdam, The Netherlands; 2Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Department Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Abstract: Nonadherence in children who use long-term medication is a serious problem and assessing adherence is an important step to provide solutions to this problem. Medication adherence can be measured by several methods, including (a) self-report questionnaires or structured interviews, (b) therapeutic drug monitoring (TDM), (c) electronic devices, and (d) pick-up/refill rates. The objective of this narrative review is to provide an overview of the literature about methods for the measurement of medication adherence in chronically ill children and adolescents. Therefore, we conducted a literature search by using multiple databases. Four methods of monitoring medication adherence are presented for the most described chronic diseases: asthma, HIV/AIDS, epilepsy, diabetes mellitus and ADHD. First, 10 commonly used self-report questionnaires and structured interviews are described, including the main characteristics, (dis)advantages and their validation studies. Second, the use of TDM in pediatric trials for medication adherence measurement is discussed. New sampling methods (e.g. dried blood spot) and sampling matrices (e.g. hair, saliva and urine) have shown their benefits for TDM in children. Third, electronic devices to measure medication adherence in children are presented, being developed for several drug administration routes. Fourth, the analyses, advantages and disadvantages of pharmacy data are discussed. The usage of this data requires specific calculations and interpretations to assess adherence. As presented in this review, every adherence method has specific (dis)advantages. When deciding which adherence method is applicable, validity and generalizability should be taken into account. Combining multiple methods seems to offer the best solution in the daily clinical practice.
Keywords: adherence, children, chronic illness, measurement, medication, (general) pediatrics
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