The Aston Medication Adherence Study:mapping the adherence patterns of an inner-city population

Abstract

Background: The Aston Medication Adherence Study was designed to examine non-adherence to prescribed medicines within an inner-city population using general practice (GP) prescribing data. Objective: To examine non-adherence patterns to prescribed oralmedications within three chronic disease states and to compare differences in adherence levels between various patient groups to assist the routine identification of low adherence amongst patients within the Heart of Birmingham teaching Primary Care Trust (HoBtPCT). Setting: Patients within the area covered by HoBtPCT (England) prescribed medication for dyslipidaemia, type-2 diabetes and hypothyroidism, between 2000 and 2010 inclusively. HoBtPCT's population was disproportionately young,with seventy per cent of residents fromBlack and Minority Ethnic groups. Method: Systematic computational analysis of all medication issue data from 76 GP surgeries dichotomised patients into two groups (adherent and non-adherent) for each pharmacotherapeutic agent within the treatment groups. Dichotomised groupings were further analysed by recorded patient demographics to identify predictors of lower adherence levels. Results were compared to an analysis of a self-reportmeasure of adherence [using the Modified Morisky Scale