Interventions to improve adherence to self-administered medications for chronic diseases in the United States: a systematic review.

Background: Suboptimum medication adherence is common in the United States and leads to serious negative health consequences but may respond to intervention.

Purpose: To assess the comparative effectiveness of patient, provider, systems, and policy interventions that aim to improve medication adherence for chronic health conditions in the United States.

Data Sources: Eligible peer-reviewed publications from MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library indexed through 4 June 2012 and additional studies from reference lists and technical experts.

Closing the quality gap: revisiting the state of the science (vol. 4: medication adherence interventions: comparative effectiveness).

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of patient, provider, and systems interventions (Key Question [KQ] 1) or policy interventions (KQ 2) in improving medication adherence for an array of chronic health conditions. For interventions that are effective in improving adherence, we then assessed their effectiveness in improving health, health care utilization, and adverse events.

Data Sources: MEDLINE®, the Cochrane Library.

Family history of diabetes as a potential public health tool.

Given the substantial morbidity and mortality associated with type 2 diabetes, it is important that public health seek ways to delay or prevent the onset of this condition. Risk factors for type 2 diabetes are well established and include underlying genetic susceptibility. Despite this knowledge, as well as significant advances in understanding the human genome, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes continues to rise at an alarming rate.