Medication persistence in older women with osteoporosis

Abstract

Objective: The purposes of this study are to: (1) examine the prevalence of medication nonpersistence in women with osteoporosis, (2) qualitatively examine reasons for medication nonpersistence in patients with osteoporosis, and (3) investigate how medication nonpersistence in patients with osteoporosis is associated with outcome expectations, patient self-efficacy, doctor trust, and locus of control. Methods: This is a cross-sectional analysis of women who self-identify as having osteoporosis and have taken at least one medication for osteoporosis. Patients are being recruited from online support groups and in-person at an academic medical center. Patients are eligible if they are female, at least 40 years of age, self-identify as having osteoporosis, and have taken at least one medication for osteoporosis. When the project is completed, we will enroll at least 80 patients through both online and in-person questionnaires. At the end of data collection, we will use multivariable logistic regression to analyze the quantitative data. Results: To date, 34 individuals have participated in the online survey. The mean age of our sample is 64.3 years old (SD = 8.4; range, 41-82 years) and all subjects are white. Approximately 82% (n = 28) of individuals reported medication nonpersistence without first consulting their physician. To date, the most common reason patients have reported nonpersistence were adverse effects (n = 21). In bivariate analyses, patients were more likely to discontinue their osteoporosis medications when they had lower outcome expectations on average, (t = 2.58; df = 32; P = 0.015), lower self-efficacy in taking osteoporosis medications on average (t = 3.99; df = 31.96; P = 0.00), and lower trust in doctors on average (t = 4.83; df = 32; P <0.0001). To date, age, insurance status, and locus of control are not associated with nonpersistence.