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Treatment Adherence Intervention Studies in Dermatology and Guidance on How to Support Adherence

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Abstract

Adequate adherence to prescribed treatment regimens can help to break the cycle of treatment failure, disease progression and subsequent treatment escalation. Unfortunately, adherence in the treatment of skin disorders such as acne, atopic dermatitis/eczema and psoriasis is often inadequate. A review of the literature identified a number of studies that tested an intervention to improve adherence in dermatology, including the following: electronic messages and/or reminders; more frequent or ‘extra’ clinic visits; audio-visual and internet-based interventions; and patient support programmes and/or self-management, educational training programmes. While there is no one solution or action for improving adherence, some interventions were more successful than others. We provide practical guidance on how to support adherence based on aspects of the successful interventions identified and on our collective opinion and clinical practice experience. Holding patients accountable, providing a caring and supportive environment, raising awareness of poor adherence and helping patients build a solid medication-taking habit can help to improve adherence so that patients can experience maximal treatment benefits and desired clinical outcomes.

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Acknowledgements

Medical writing assistance was provided by Róisín O’Connor, inScience Communications, and funded by Almirall.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, USA

    Steven R. Feldman

  2. WestRock Healthcare, Visé, Belgium

    Bernard Vrijens

  3. University of Liège, Liège, Belgium

    Bernard Vrijens

  4. Justus Liebig University, Giessen, Germany

    Uwe Gieler

  5. University of Padua, Padua, Italy

    Stefano Piaserico

  6. Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain

    Lluís Puig

  7. Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Peter van de Kerkhof

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  1. Steven R. Feldman
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  2. Bernard Vrijens
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  3. Uwe Gieler
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  4. Stefano Piaserico
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  5. Lluís Puig
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  6. Peter van de Kerkhof
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Steven R. Feldman.

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Disclosure of potential conflict of interest

All authors (or their affiliated company) received honorarium from Almirall for their attendance and contribution to an Experts Meeting in Barcelona on 9 November 2015. This manuscript was initiated following this meeting, with medical writing assistance funded by Almirall. Steven R. Feldman has also lectured for Celgene, Janssen, Lilly and Novartis, and has stock in Causa Research, a Wake Forest University spin-off company developing and marketing adherence solutions. Bernard Vrijens is an employee of WestRock Healthcare. Uwe Gieler, Stefano Piaserico, Lluís Puig and Peter van de Kerkhof have no other conflicts of interest to disclose.

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Feldman, S.R., Vrijens, B., Gieler, U. et al. Treatment Adherence Intervention Studies in Dermatology and Guidance on How to Support Adherence. Am J Clin Dermatol 18, 253–271 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40257-017-0253-5

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