Intervention Promoting Medication Adherence: A Randomized, Phase I, Small-N Study.

OBJECTIVE: Many people with chronic health conditions fail to take their medications as prescribed, resulting in declines in health and function. The purpose of this study was to perform a Phase I feasibility study to understand whether an integrated occupational therapy intervention could help people with chronic health conditions improve their adherence to medications.

METHOD: Using a small-N design, we report single-subject analyses of the medication adherence of 11 participants before and after either an occupational therapy intervention or a standard care intervention. We used a multiple baseline approach with intersubject replication and blinding.

RESULTS: The occupational therapy intervention was found to decrease performance variability and to increase medication adherence rates in some people with chronic conditions.

CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that an occupational therapy intervention can improve medication adherence in people with chronic health conditions. The intervention tested in this study is feasible and would benefit from further research.