CAMALeoN: Communication And Medication Adherence in Lupus Nephritis
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring whether quality of physician-patient communication is associated with medication adherence in patients with lupus nephritis
IRAS ID
202999
Contact name
Sofia Georgopoulou
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier
16/SW/0182, South West - Exeter Research Ethics Committee
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 0 months, 0 days
Research summary
Physician-patient communication is a central clinical function that is complex in nature and has received a considerable amount of attention in recent years. The nature of physician-patient interaction in the assessment and management of rheumatic diseases can have a significant impact on patients’ health-related quality of life. One of the domains that can be affected by the quality of contact with the health care provider and the amount of information provided to patients is medication adherence. Medication adherence has been estimated to range between 30-99% in patients with rheumatic diseases – depending on disease activity. Treatment adherence was highlighted as one of the five main themes in the management of patients with lupus. However, it is not known, what factors help patients in making a decision to start and/or stop taking their lupus medications. Unpublished data by Mercer et al. from the Louise Coote Lupus Unit at Guy’s Hospital reports mean self-reported adherence rate for SLE patients at 88.3%. However, data on medication adherence in patients with lupus nephritis is not available, to our knowledge. Lupus nephritis, unless treated promptly with appropriate medications, is a common manifestation of lupus which can result in end-stage renal disease and dialysis. A considerable proportion of patients with lupus do not take their medications regularly for reasons that are not known.
Thus, the current study which aims to: (a) assess medication adherence in patients with lupus nephritis and (b) explore the role of physician-patient communication in relation to medication adherence in patients with lupus nephritis. If factors of the decision-making process of adherence can be identified, it could be possible to address these issues in the future to improve medication taking, which in turn, could improve the quality of life and illness status in patients with lupus nephritis.REC name
South West - Cornwall & Plymouth Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
16/SW/0182
Date of REC Opinion
15 Jul 2016
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion