Scottish Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication in the Elderly
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Scottish Adherence to Antihypertensive Medication in the Elderly
IRAS ID
189366
Contact name
Stephen Peddie
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
NHS Education for Scotland
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 4 months, 28 days
Research summary
Despite recent progress in the prevention, detection and treatment of hypertension, it persists as a major public health challenge affecting between 30-45% of the general population, increasing steeply with age. The effectiveness of antihypertensive agents is dependent on persistent adherence to prescribed medication. Poor adherence to antihypertensive therapy is the most significant patient-related barrier to achieving blood pressure control.Few studies investigating adherence to antihypertensive medication have been conducted within the community pharmacy setting.
The aims are to:
1. assess adherence to antihypertensive medication using self-reported measures and prescription dispensing data;
2. examine patient-specific factors associated with antihypertensive medication adherence;
among Scottish adults aged 65 years and over.Consecutive patients presenting, with a prescription for at least one medication indicated for the treatment of hypertension, to one of approximately 130-150 community pharmacies in Scotland will be recruited. Community pharmacies are selected on the basis of their involvement in the NHS Pre-registration Pharmacist Scheme (PRPS). Pharmacies will be included if they have a pharmacy pre-registration trainee under their supervision during the study period. Each pharmacy pre-registration trainee will recruit up to 15 consecutive patients between January and March 2016.
Patients will be invited to consent to a telephone interview with the pharmacy pre-registration trainee. This is a structured interview, collecting information on: sociodemographic, clinical and treatment factors; beliefs about medicines; and adherence.
REC name
East of England - Cambridge South Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/EE/0395
Date of REC Opinion
21 Oct 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion