A comparison of medication adherence indices to assess long-term inhaled corticosteroid medication use.
This study examined associations between select hypothesized adherence predictors in claims databases and long-term inhaled corticosteroid adherence. Medication adherence was measured by using medication possession indexes and a refill regularity measure in 1595 older adults using inhaled corticosteroids for 2 years. Medication possession indices were highly correlated with each other but not with the refill regularity measure. Additionally, the hypothesized predictors explained a larger percentage of the variance in the medication possession indices compared to the refill regularity measure. Although long-term retrospective medication utilization poses many measurability issues, the use of multiple indices gives a more complete picture of usage behavior.
Department of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27157, USA. rbalkris@wfubmc.edu
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Balkrishnan
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Christensen
D000280:Administration, Inhalation; D000368:Aged; D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D005938:Glucocorticoids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010349:Patient Compliance / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013997:Time Factors
D018927:Anti-Asthmatic Agents; D005938:Glucocorticoids