Managing treatment fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis on long-term therapy: the role of multiple sclerosis nurses.

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Managing treatment fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis on long-term therapy: the role of multiple sclerosis nurses.

Author(s): Ann Crawford ¹ , Sally Jewell ¹ , Holly Mara ¹ , Laura McCatty ¹ , Regina Pelfrey ¹

Publication date (Electronic): 2014

Journal: Patient preference and adherence

Publisher: Informa UK Limited

Keywords: disease-modifying therapy, injection, multiple sclerosis, nurse

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Abstract

This article discusses the many ways that nurses can address the factors that lead to treatment fatigue in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) on long-term disease-modifying therapy, ultimately helping to preserve the patient's health and quality of life. Patients with MS on long-term therapy may suffer from treatment fatigue and poor adherence due to a variety of different factors, including difficulties with injections, anxiety/depression, financial problems, and inaccurate beliefs about the MS disease process. Because MS nurses have regular interactions with patients, they are ideally situated to help patients cope with these and other factors that may limit adherence.

Most cited references 30

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D E Morisky, L Green, D Levine (1986)

Adherence to the medical regimen continues to rank as a major clinical problem in the management of patients with essential hypertension, as in other conditions treated with drugs and life-style modification. This article reviews the psychometric properties and tests the concurrent and predictive validity of a structured four-item self-reported adherence measure (alpha reliability = 0.61), which can be easily integrated into the medical visit. Items in the scale address barriers to medication-taking and permit the health care provider to reinforce positive adherence behaviors. Data on patient adherence to the medical regimen were collected at the end of a formalized 18-month educational program. Blood pressure measurements were recorded throughout a 3-year follow-up period. Results showed the scale to demonstrate both concurrent and predictive validity with regard to blood pressure control at 2 years and 5 years, respectively. Seventy-five percent of the patients who scored high on the four-item scale at year 2 had their blood pressure under adequate control at year 5, compared with 47% under control at year 5 for those patients scoring low (P less than 0.01).

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Predictive validity of a medication adherence measure in an outpatient setting.

Donald E. Morisky, Alfonso Ang, Marie Krousel-Wood … (2008)

This study examines the psychometric properties and tests the concurrent and predictive validity of a structured, self-reported medication adherence measure in patients with hypertension. The authors also assessed various psychosocial determinants of adherence, such as knowledge, social support, satisfaction with care, and complexity of the medical regimen. A total of 1367 patients participated in the study; mean age was 52.5 years, 40.8% were male, 76.5% were black, 50.8% graduated from high school, 26% were married, and 54.1% had income <$5,000. The 8-item medication adherence scale was reliable (alpha=.83) and significantly associated with blood pressure control (P<.05). Using a cutpoint of <6, the sensitivity of the measure to identify patients with poor blood pressure control was estimated to be 93%, and the specificity was 53%. The medication adherence measure proved to be reliable, with good concurrent and predictive validity in primarily low-income, minority patients with hypertension and might function as a screening tool in outpatient settings with other patient groups.

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The Global Adherence Project (GAP): a multicenter observational study on adherence to disease-modifying therapies in patients with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis.

Bernd C Kieseier, L Suchet, E Frohman … (2011)

most disease-modifying therapies (DMTs) for multiple sclerosis (MS) are self-injectable medications that must be taken on an ongoing basis to reduce disease activity. Thus, adherence to therapy becomes an important challenge that must be addressed to maximize benefits of therapy. This study evaluated rates of adherence to prescribed treatment and explored factors affecting adherence amongst patients with relapsing-remitting MS. this was an observational, multicenter, multinational, phase 4 study. Patients and physicians received paper questionnaires regarding adherence to DMTs approved at the time of the study, including intramuscular interferon beta-1a (IFNβ-1a), subcutaneous IFNβ-1a, IFNβ-1b, and glatiramer acetate. Quality of life and cognition data also were collected. Multivariate analysis was conducted to identify factors associated with adherence to long-term DMTs. two thousand six hundred and forty-eight patients were studied, revealing an average treatment duration of 31 months. Seventy-five percent of patients (n = 1923) were adherent to therapy. The most common reasons for non-adherence were forgetting to administer the injection (50.2%) and other injection-related reasons (32.0%). Adherent patients reported better quality of life (P < 0.05) and fewer neuropsychological issues (P < 0.001) than non-adherent patients. Adherent patients had significantly shorter duration of disease (P < 0.001) and shorter duration of therapy (P = 0.005) than non-adherent patients. Women were more likely than men to adhere to treatment. identifying factors that affect adherence to prescribed treatments is the first step in improving adherence of patients with MS to therapy, thereby helping maximize the benefits of long-term DMTs.