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Sue Oakley, MSc, MRPharmS, is pharmaceutical
adviser to Poole Primary Care Trust, Westover House, West Quay
Road, Poole
Dorset BH15 1JF.
Tom Walley, MD, FRCP, is professor of clinical
pharmacology at the University of Liverpool.
Correspondence to Ms Oakley
e-mail sue.oakley@poole-pct.nhs.uk |
Abstract
Aim
To assess the effect of a decision aid on adherence with oral bisphosphonate medication prescribed to prevent osteoporotic fracture.
Design
Randomised controlled trial.
Subjects and setting
Postmenopausal women either with a diagnosis of osteoporosis or aged over
65 years with radiological evidence of fragility fracture, prescribed oral
bisphosphonate medication, in one practice in Dorset.
Results
110 women meeting the criteria for inclusion were invited to participate;
33 were recruited and randomised. There was no statistically significant
change in adherence over the course of the study (P=0.47), and changes
in adherence did not differ between the 2 groups (P=0.80 Mann Whitney U
test).
Conclusions
The decision aid improved participants’ ability to make a decision
about which treatment was best and allowed them to discuss their medication
with the GP, but it had no obvious effect on adherence when compared with
the control group.
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The
Pharmaceutical Journal