Impact of education on dimensions of adherence in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Objectives To assess the impact of patient education on medication adherence and quality-of-life (QoL) in Hungarian subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Study Design Longitudinal, non-interventional study conducted at three pulmonology outpatient centers in and around Budapest, Hungary. Experimental Subjects visiting the center with COPD were invited to participate in the study. Data collected at baseline included subject demographics, medical history, and responses to the adherence (Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8)) and QoL (EuroQoL-5D-5L (EQ5D), St. George’s Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), and COPD Assessment Tool (CAT)) scales. Subjects were also provided with patient education designed with standardized content. Subjects were asked to provide responses to adherence and QoL scales again at the 3-month follow-up visit. Medication was left unchanged during the course of study. Statistical analysis included independent and paired-samples t-tests, one-way ANOVA, mixed-measures ANOVA and ANCOVA. Results Mean (± standard deviation (SD)) overall adherence score on MMAS-8 scale increased from 6.72 (± 1.46) at baseline to 7.01 (± 1.15) at follow-up (P = .040). A similar increase in mean (± SD) score was observed for question 4 on the MMAS-8 which deals with remembering to carry COPD medication when leaving house (baseline = 0.81 (± 0.40) versus follow-up = 0.89 (± 0.31); P = 0.018). Conclusions Patient education has a positive outcome on medication adherence in subjects with COPD. Further studies will be required to assess if these benefits are translated to patients’ QoL.