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Investigating the mechanisms of behavior change interventions provides a more fulsome understanding of how and why interventions work (or don't work). We assessed mechanisms of two interventions (mailouts alone, and mailouts plus telephone support, informed by the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) and Habit Theory), designed to increase medication adherence after myocardial infarction. We conducted a process evaluation alongside a pragmatic trial. Medication adherence was assessed via self-report at 12-months in the trial, and participants in all trial groups were invited to contemporaneously complete an additional questionnaire assessing targeted mechanisms (HAPA constructs and automaticity). We used multiple regression-based mediation models to investigate indirect effects. Of 589 respondents, 497 were analyzed (92 excluded due to missing data). Mailouts plus telephone support had statistically significant but small effects on intention, social support, action planning, coping planning, and automaticity. There were no indirect effects of interventions on medication adherence via these constructs. Therefore, while this intervention led to changes in proposed mechanisms, these changes were not great enough to lead to behavior change. Refinements (and subsequent evaluation) of the interventions are warranted, and our findings indicate that this could involve offering more intensive support to form plans and identify cues for taking medications, in addition to providing physical supports to encourage self-monitoring, feedback, and habit formation. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02382731., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.)

The objectives of this review were to: 1) examine recent strategies and component interventions used to overcome therapeutic inertia in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), 2) map strategies to the causes of therapeutic inertia they target and 3) identify causes of therapeutic inertia in T2DM that have not been targeted by recent strategies. A systematic search of the literature published from January 2014 to December 2019 was conducted to identify strategies targeting therapeutic inertia in T2DM, and key strategy characteristics were extracted and summarized. The search identified 46 articles, employing a total of 50 strategies aimed at overcoming therapeutic inertia. Strategies were composed of an average of 3.3 interventions (range, 1 to 10) aimed at an average of 3.6 causes (range, 1 to 9); most (78%) included a type of educational strategy. Most strategies targeted causes of inertia at the patient (38%) or health-care professional (26%) levels only and 8% targeted health-care-system-level causes, whereas 28% targeted causes at multiple levels. No strategies focused on patients' attitudes toward disease or lack of trust in health-care professionals; none addressed health-care professionals' concerns over costs or lack of information on side effects/fear of causing harm, or the lack of a health-care-system-level disease registry. Strategies to overcome therapeutic inertia in T2DM commonly employed multiple interventions, but novel strategies with interventions that simultaneously target multiple levels warrant further study. Although educational interventions are commonly used to address therapeutic inertia, future strategies may benefit from addressing a wider range of determinants of behaviour change to overcome therapeutic inertia., (Copyright © 2020 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite evidence-based recommendations, adherence with secondary prevention medications post-myocardial infarction (MI) remains low. Taking medication requires behaviour change, and using behavioural theories to identify what factors determine adherence could help to develop novel adherence interventions., Objective: Compare the utility of different behaviour theory-based approaches for identifying modifiable determinants of medication adherence post-MI that could be targeted by interventions., Methods: Two studies were conducted with patients 0-2, 3-12, 13-24 or 25-36 weeks post-MI. Study 1: 24 patients were interviewed about barriers and facilitators to medication adherence. Interviews were conducted and coded using the Theoretical Domains Framework. Study 2: 201 patients answered a telephone questionnaire assessing Health Action Process Approach constructs to predict intention and medication adherence (MMAS-8)., Results: Study 1: domains identified: Beliefs about Consequences, Memory/Attention/Decision Processes, Behavioural Regulation, Social Influences and Social Identity. Study 2: 64, 59, 42 and 58% reported high adherence at 0-2, 3-12, 13-24 and 25-36 weeks. Social Support and Action Planning predicted adherence at all time points, though the relationship between Action Planning and adherence decreased over time., Conclusions: Using two behaviour theory-based approaches provided complimentary findings and identified modifiable factors that could be targeted to help translate Intention into action to improve medication adherence post-MI.

Background: Discontinuation of guideline-recommended cardiac medications post-ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is common and associated with increased mortality. DERLA-STEMI tested an intervention to improve long-term adherence to cardiac medications post-STEMI., Methods and Results: Between September 2011 and December 2012, STEMI patients from one health region in Ontario, who underwent an angiogram during their admission and survived to discharge, were cluster randomized (by primary care provider) to intervention or control. The intervention was an automated system of personalized, educational-reminders sent to the patient and their family physician, urging long-term use of secondary-prevention medications. Interventions were mailed at 1, 2, 5, 8, and 11 months after discharge. A total of 852 eligible participants were randomized to intervention (n = 424, 287 clusters) and control (n = 428, 295 clusters); 87% completed a 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome, defined as the proportion of participants taking (persistence) all 4-cardiovascular medication classes (acetylsalicylic acid, angiotensin blockers, statin, and β-blocker) at 12 months, was 58.4% (intervention) and 58.9% (control; adjusted odds ratio 1.03, 95% CI 0.77-1.36). Medication adherence, as assessed by the Morisky Medication Adherence Score, was statistically significantly better in the intervention group as compared with control (65.3% vs 58.0%, adjusted odds ratio 1.35, 95% CI 1.01-1.81)., Conclusion: The results suggest suboptimal use of 4 of 4 cardiac medication classes at 12 months. There was no significant difference compared with usual care in the persistence to guideline-recommended medications post-STEMI when participants (and their family physicians) receive repeated postal reminders., (Copyright © 2015 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Patient adherence to cardiac secondary prevention medications declines over time. We examined whether the length of the initial prescription at hospital discharge after coronary angiography would be associated with long-term adherence., Methods: We conducted a population-level cohort study to examine adherence to cardiac medications for 18 months after coronary angiography in elderly patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). We identified patients with clinical indications for angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors or angiotensin receptor blockers (ACE-I/ARB), beta-blockers (BB), and/or statins. In each medication class cohort, we defined high adherence as proportion of days covered (PDC) > 80%. The length of the initial prescription was defined as 0-30 days, 31-60 days, and more than 60 days. We controlled for patient sociodemographic factors, previous adherence, and comorbidities., Results: The ACE-I/ARB cohort included 13,305 patients, the BB cohort included 5,792 patients, and the statin cohort included 16,134 patients. Using < 30 days as the reference, initial prescriptions covering at least 60 days were more likely to result in high long-term adherence for ACE-I/ARB (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 4.1; 95% confidence interval [CI], 3.6-4.7); BB (aOR, 2.4; 95% CI, 1.9-3.1), and statins (aOR, 3.0; 95% CI, 2.6-3.4). More than 80% of patients had outpatient follow-up with a primary care provider within 30 days, and this did not vary based on length of initial prescription., Conclusions: Giving patients longer prescriptions for cardiac secondary prevention medications at hospital discharge seems to increase the likelihood of high long-term adherence in elderly patients., (Copyright © 2013 Canadian Cardiovascular Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: Despite evidence-based recommendations supporting long-term use of cardiac medications in patients post ST-elevation myocardial infarction, adherence is known to decline over time. Discontinuation of cardiac medications in such patients is associated with increased mortality., Methods/design: This is a pragmatic, cluster-randomized controlled trial with blinded outcome assessment and embedded qualitative process evaluation. Patients from one health region in Ontario, Canada who undergo a coronary angiogram during their admission for ST-elevation myocardial infarction and who survive their initial hospitalization will be included. Allocation of eligible patients to intervention or usual care will take place within one week after the angiogram using a computer-generated random sequence. To avoid treatment contamination, patients treated by the same family physician will be allocated to the same study arm. The intervention consists of recurrent, personalized, paper-based educational messages and reminders sent via post on behalf of the interventional cardiologist to the patient, family physician, and pharmacist urging long-term adherence to secondary prevention medications. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients who report in a phone interview taking all relevant classes of cardiac medications at twelve months. Secondary outcomes to be measured at three and twelve months include proportions of patients who report: actively taking each cardiac medication class of interest (item-by-item); stopping medications due to side effects; taking one or two or three medication classes concurrently; a perfect Morisky Medication Adherence Score for cardiac medication compliance; and having a discussion with their family physician about long-term adherence to cardiac medications. Self-reported measures of adherence will be validated using administrative data for prescriptions filled., Discussion: This intervention is designed to be easily generalizable. If effective, it could be implemented broadly. If it does not change medication utilization, the process evaluation will offer insights regarding how such an intervention could be optimized in future., Trial Registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT01325116.

Aims: The objectives of this scoping review were to: (1) identify the target audience and contexts in which strategies to improve type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) medication adherence have been used, (2) provide an overview of behaviour change techniques (BCTs) used, (3) describe the determinants of behaviour targeted by strategies and (4) to identify current gaps in strategies. Methods: A systemic search for articles related to T2DM, medication adherence and strategies was conducted in EMBASE, Ovid MEDLINE and Epub Ahead of Print, In‐Process & Other Non‐Indexed Citations and Daily using the OvidSP platform on 11 March 2021. All publications involving strategies to overcome medication non‐adherence among adults with T2DM were included. Strategies were categorized according to the BCT taxonomy and the determinants of behaviour targeted by each strategy were classified by using the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Results: The search identified 58 articles and 61 strategies. The BCT categories Antecedents and Natural consequences and BCTs Feedback on outcome(s) of behaviour, Adding objects to the environment and Information about health consequences were identified most frequently as components of strategies resulting in statistically significant improvement in medication adherence. Strategies targeting the TDF domains Reinforcement and Beliefs about Consequences most often resulted in statistically significant improvements in adherence measures. Conclusions: The findings from this review identify BCTs and targeted behaviours with demonstrated success. Further exploration of the myriad of BCTs and the corresponding determinants of behaviour which were not accessed may be warranted for the development of future strategies to improve medication adherence in type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Taking all recommended secondary prevention cardiac medications and fully participating in a formal cardiac rehabilitation program significantly reduces mortality and morbidity in the year following a heart attack. However, many people who have had a heart attack stop taking some or all of their recommended medications prematurely and many do not complete a formal cardiac rehabilitation program. Objective: The objective of our study was to develop a user-centered, theory-based, scalable intervention of printed educational materials to encourage and support people who have had a heart attack to use recommended secondary prevention cardiac treatments. Methods: Prior to the design process, we conducted theory-based interviews and surveys with patients who had had a heart attack to identify key determinants of secondary prevention behaviors. Our interdisciplinary research team then partnered with a patient advisor and design firm to undertake an iterative, theory-informed, user-centered design process to operationalize techniques to address these determinants. User-centered design requires considering users' needs, goals, strengths, limitations, context, and intuitive processes; designing prototypes adapted to users accordingly; observing how potential users respond to the prototype; and using those data to refine the design. To accomplish these tasks, we conducted user research to develop personas (archetypes of potential users), developed a preliminary prototype using behavior change theory to map behavior change techniques to identified determinants of medication adherence, and conducted 2 design cycles, testing materials via think-aloud and semistructured interviews with a total of 11 users (10 patients who had experienced a heart attack and 1 caregiver). We recruited participants at a single cardiac clinic using purposive sampling informed by our personas. We recorded sessions with users and extracted key themes from transcripts. We held interdisciplinary team discussions to interpret findings in the context of relevant theory-based evidence and iteratively adapted the intervention accordingly. Results: Through our iterative development and testing, we identified 3 key tensions: (1) evidence from theory-based studies versus users' feelings, (2) informative versus persuasive communication, and (3) logistical constraints for the intervention versus users' desires or preferences. We addressed these by (1) identifying root causes for users' feelings and addressing those to better incorporate theory- and evidence-based features, (2) accepting that our intervention was ethically justified in being persuasive, and (3) making changes to the intervention where possible, such as attempting to match imagery in the materials to patients' self-images. Conclusions: Theory-informed interventions must be operationalized in ways that fit with user needs. Tensions between users' desires or preferences and health care system goals and constraints must be identified and addressed to the greatest extent possible. A cluster randomized controlled trial of the final intervention is currently underway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]