Info, motivation, behavioral skill affect med adherence

(HealthDay)—Patients' adherence-related information, motivation, and behavioral skills (IMB) are important targets for interventions promoting adherence to diabetes medications, according to a study published online March 5 in Diabetes Care.

Lindsay S. Mayberry, Ph.D., and Chandra Y. Osborn, Ph.D., M.P.H., both from the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tenn., conducted an interviewer-administered survey in 314 participants, along with an A1C test. The effects of diabetes medication adherence-related information, motivation, and behavioral skills were examined on medication adherence and the effect of medication adherence on A1C.

The researchers found that IMB elements explained 41 percent of the variance in adherence, and adherence explained 9 percent of the variance in A1C. Behavioral skills had a direct, significant effect on adherence (P < 0.001) and weakened the effects of information (indirect effect, 0.08) and motivation (indirect effect, 0.12) on adherence. Glycemic control (P < 0.001) was significantly predicted by medication adherence. There was no association between insulin status or regimen complexity and adherence. Additionally, neither one of these moderated associations between the IMB constructs and adherence.

"Medication adherence promotion interventions may benefit from content targeting patients' medication adherence-related information, motivation, and behavioral skills and assessing the degree to which change in these determinants leads to changes in medication adherence behavior," the authors write.