A Medication Adherence Enhancement Program for Persons with Pulmonary Tuberculosis: A Randomized Controlled Trial Study

Successful tuberculosis treatment is strongly dependent on medication adherence throughout the full course of treatment. This randomized controlled trial examined the effects of the Medication Adherence Enhancement Program for persons with pulmonary tuberculosis on treatment success and medication adherence in a hospital in northern Thailand. Fifty participants meeting the inclusion criteria were randomly assigned to either an intervention (n=25) or control (n=25) group. The intervention group received the Program based on the social cognitive theory in addition to usual care, while the control group received only usual care. The Program duration was 8 weeks, and included 7 sessions: 5 for providing knowledge and raising self-efficacy for self-regulation to adhere to medication, and 2 for reminding and counselling. Medication adherence was assessed using the Anti-Tuberculosis Medication Adherence Scale, while treatment success was evaluated by using the Criteria to Identify Tuberculosis Treatment Outcomes of the World Health Organization. Fisher's exact test and Mann-Whitney U test were used analysed data. Results revealed that the mean score of medication adherence in the intervention group at 3 months after implementing the program was significantly higher than the control group. However, at 6 months after implementation, the mean score of medication adherence and treatment success of the participants in the intervention group was higher than the control group but not significantly different. Nurses may implement this Program to increase medication adherence in the short-term and improve treatment success in targeted persons.