Healthcare professionals' perceptions on barriers and facilitators to DMARD use in rheumatoid arthritis.

BMC Health Serv Res

Department of Research & Innovation, Sint Maartenskliniek, Ubbergen, The Netherlands.

Published: January 2022

Background: Disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) are the cornerstone of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) treatment. However, the full benefits of DMARDs are often not realized because many patients are sub-optimally adherent to their medication. In order to optimize adherence, it is essential that healthcare professionals (HCPs) understand patients' barriers and facilitators for medication use. Insight in these barriers and facilitators may foster the dialogue about adequate medication use between HCPs and patients. What HCPs perceive as barriers and facilitators has, so far, scarcely been investigated. This study aimed to identify the perceptions of HCPs on patients' barriers and facilitators that might influence their adherence.

Methods: This qualitative study was performed using semi structured in-depth interviews with HCPs. An interview guide was used, based on an adjusted version of the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF). Thematic analysis was conducted to identify factors that influence barriers and facilitators to DMARD use according to HCPs.

Results: Fifteen HCPs (5 rheumatologists, 5 nurses and 5 pharmacists) were interviewed. They mentioned a variety of factors that, according to their perceptions, influence DMARD adherence in patients with RA. Besides therapy-related factors, such as (onset of) medication effectiveness and side-effects, most variation was found within patient-related factors and reflected patients' beliefs, ways of coping, and (self-management) skills toward medication and their condition. In addition, factors related to the condition (e.g., level of disease activity), healthcare team and system (e.g., trust in HCP), and social and economic context (e.g. support, work shifts) were reported.

Conclusions: This study provided insights in HCPs' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to DMARD use patients with RA. Most factors that were mentioned were patient-related and potentially modifiable. When physicians understand patients' perceptions on medication use, adherence to DMARDs can probably be optimized in patients with RA leading to more effectiveness of treatment outcomes.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8756692PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s12913-021-07459-0DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

barriers facilitators
28
facilitators dmard
12
perceptions barriers
8
rheumatoid arthritis
8
understand patients'
8
patients' barriers
8
barriers
7
facilitators
7
medication
6
hcps
6

Similar Publications

Context: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) has diverse applications across various clinical specialties, serving as an adjunct to clinical findings and as a tool for increasing the quality of patient care. Owing to its multifunctionality, a growing number of medical schools are increasingly incorporating POCUS training into their curriculum, some offering hands-on training during the first 2 years of didactics and others utilizing a longitudinal exposure model integrated into all 4 years of medical school education. Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine (MWU-AZCOM) adopted a 4-year longitudinal approach to include POCUS education in 2017.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Methodological description of knowledge translation: Implementation of clinical practice guidelines into clinical practice.

PM R

January 2025

Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Oncological Physical Therapy, Board Certified Clinical Specialist in Women's Health Physical Therapy, LANA Certified Lymphedema Therapist, Select Medical, ReVital Cancer Rehabilitation, Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, USA.

This methodological paper explores the intricacies of implementing evidence-based medicine in the health care sector specifically focusing on the clinical practice guideline (CPG) published by the American Physical Therapy Association's Academy of Oncologic Physical Therapy for diagnosing upper quadrant lymphedema secondary to cancer (diagnosis CPG). Although CPGs are widely available, their implementation into clinical practice remains inconsistent, slow, and complex. To address this challenge, this paper employs the Knowledge-to-Action framework, offering a detailed description of the seven stages through the lens of an in-progress case study on the implementation of the diagnosis CPG.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Objective: The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) designation is known to increase breastfeeding rates in the U.S. However, less is known about barriers and facilitators to breastfeeding support practices in BFHI hospitals, and how they differ from non-BFHI hospitals.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Using the hospital frailty risk score to assess oesophago-gastric cancer patient outcomes: a retrospective cohort study.

Int J Surg

January 2025

Department of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgery, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, London, United Kingdom.

Background: The inclusion of clinical frailty in the assessment of patients planned for major surgery has proven to be an independent predictor of outcome. Since approximately half of all patients in the UK diagnosed with oesophagogastric (OG) cancer are over 75 years of age, assessment of frailty may be important in selection for surgery.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective cohort study applied the Hospital Frailty Risk Score to data obtained from the NHS Secondary Uses Service electronic database for patients aged 75 years or older undergoing oesophagectomy and gastrectomy between April 2017 and March 2020.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

The incorporation of polymeric insulators has led to notable achievements in the field of organic semiconductors. By altering the blending concentration, polymeric insulators exhibit extensive capabilities in regulating molecular configuration, film crystallinity, and mitigation of defect states. However, current research suggests that the improvement in such physical properties is primarily attributed to the enhancement of thin film morphology, an outcome that seems to be an inevitable consequence of incorporating insulators.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!