THE EFFECT OF INHALER TRAINING AND REMINDERS ON MEDICATION ADHERENCE IN ELDERLY INDIVIDUALS

Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University

Status: Enrolling

Conditions: Elderly (People Aged 65 or More)

Treatments: Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Training; Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Application Video; Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Reminder Card

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT07381166

AIBU-SBF-SA-01

Details and patient eligibility

About

This study will evaluate the effect of metered-dose inhaler training and reminders on treatment adherence in elderly individuals.

Full description

The presence of multiple comorbidities and an increased number of medications in elderly individuals are significant risk factors for non-adherence to inhaler therapy. Forgetfulness, lack of confidence in medications and difficulty understanding how to take them, depression, low self-efficacy, disease severity, and disease perception can all affect adherence to treatment. Incorrect inhaler use can lead to patients receiving insufficient medication, increased symptom burden, and negatively impact their quality of life. Furthermore, incorrect inhaler technique has been shown to increase the risk of hospitalization, emergency room visits, and the use of antibiotics and oral corticosteroids. Implementing procedures to ensure correct inhaler use is crucial in controlling critical errors in inhaler therapy. Elderly patients are more likely to have conditions such as arthritis that affect physical movement and coordination. Cognitive function also affects the ability to use inhaler devices correctly. It is known that incorrect inhaler use is more common, particularly in untrained and elderly individuals, with frequent errors including poor hand-mouth coordination, inability to synchronize spraying and inhalation, and failure to hold the breath during inhalation being common mistakes in metered-dose inhaler use. Therefore, this study will evaluate the effect of metered-dose inhaler training and reminders on treatment adherence in elderly individuals.

Enrollment: 64 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 65+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria for the study:

• Age ≥ 65 years old
• Having at least basic literacy,
• Receiving metered-dose inhaler therapy for at least 6 months,
• Being hospitalized in the pulmonary ward,
• Presenting to the pulmonary function test unit,
• Presenting to the pulmonary outpatient clinic,
• Signing the informed consent form for participation in the study,
• Having internet access and a mobile device with Android/iOS operating system,
• Being able to use a telephone,
• Having no communication barriers,
• Being able to use the inhaler without needing assistance,
• Making an error in at least one of the usage steps according to the MDI usage skills chart.

Exclusion criteria for the study:

• Age <65
• Illiteracy
• Receiving metered-dose inhaler therapy for <6 months
• Outpatient treatment
• Being hospitalized in the intensive care unit
• Being hospitalized in wards other than the pulmonary ward (such as surgery, physical therapy)
• Visiting outpatient clinics other than the pulmonary clinic (such as surgery, physical therapy)
• Not signing the informed consent form for participation in the study
• Not having internet access and a mobile device with Android/iOS operating system
• Not having telephone skills
• Having communication barriers
• Requiring assistance while using the inhaler
• Not making any errors in the usage steps according to the MDI usage skills chart
• Wanting to withdraw from the study/withdrawing from participation during the research process
• Not completing the questionnaire

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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64 participants in 2 patient groups

arm description experimental

Experimental group

Description:

The socio-demographic and descriptive characteristics, as well as questions regarding medication adherence, included in the survey form will be answered through face-to-face interviews. While the participant demonstrates how to apply the inhaler, the researcher will evaluate the participant's inhaler use according to the "Metered Dose Inhaler Skill Chart," which includes the steps for inhaler use. Each participant in the experimental group will receive metered-dose inhaler training using a demonstration method. At the end of the training, participants will be given a "Metered Dose Inhaler Use Reminder Card" and a "Metered Dose Inhaler Application Video." Participants will also receive weekly reminders via telephone. After 3 months, the experimental group will be contacted via video call to demonstrate how they use the inhaler. The researcher will evaluate the participants' medication adherence scores and record them on the survey form. If any steps are incorrectly applied, the metered

Treatment:

Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Reminder Card

Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Application Video

Other: Metered Dose Inhaler Training

arm description control

No Intervention group

Description:

The socio-demographic and demographic characteristics, as well as questions regarding medication adherence, included in the survey form will be answered through face-to-face interviews. While the participant demonstrates how to apply the inhaler, the researcher will evaluate the participant's inhaler use according to the "Metered Dose Inhaler Skill Chart," which includes the steps for inhaler use. No inhaler training or reminders will be given. Participants in the control group will be contacted by phone 3 months after the initial follow-up and asked to demonstrate how they use the inhaler. The researcher will evaluate the participants' medication adherence scores and record them on the survey form. After the data collection is complete, inhaler training will be given to the participants using a demonstration method. At the end of the training, reminder cards and a video demonstrating metered-dose inhaler application will be shared with the participants.