Is adherence therapy an effective adjunct treatment for patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis

Gray, Richard; Bressington, Daniel; Ivanecka, Ada; Hardy, Sheila; Jones, Martin; Schulz, Michael; von Bormann, Suparpit; White, Jacquie; Anderson, Kathryn Hoehn; Chien, Wai-Tong

Abstract

Background Poor adherence to medication in schizophrenia spectrum disorders leads to inadequate symptom control. Adherence therapy (AT) is an intervention that seeks to reduce patients’ psychiatric symptoms by enhancing treatment adherence. We aimed to systematically review the trial evidence of the effectiveness of AT on improving clinical outcomes in these patients. Method Systematic review and meta-analysis of published RCTs. We included studies testing AT as an adjunct intervention against treatment as usual or a comparator intervention in the general adult psychiatric population. The primary outcome of interest was improvement in psychiatric symptoms. Results We included six studies testing AT in schizophrenia spectrum disorders published since 2006. A meta-analysis showed AT significantly reduced psychiatric symptoms compared to usual treatment over a follow-up period of less than 1 year. We found no significant effects of AT on patients’ adherence and adherence attitudes. Conclusions AT is an effective adjunctive treatment for people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Citation

Gray, R., Bressington, D., Ivanecka, A., Hardy, S., Jones, M., Schulz, M., von Bormann, S., White, J., Anderson, K. H., & Chien, W.-T. (2016). Is adherence therapy an effective adjunct treatment for patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders? A systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Psychiatry, 16(1), 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0801-1

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 31, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Publication Date: Apr 6, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 13, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 13, 2016
• Journal: BMC psychiatry
• Print ISSN: 1471-244X
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 90
• Pages: 1-12
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-016-0801-1
• Keywords: Schizophrenia, Adherence therapy, Compliance, Adherence, Systematic review, Meta-analysis, Schizophrenia-spectrum disorders
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/435883
• Publisher URL: http://bmcpsychiatry.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12888-016-0801-1
• Additional Information: Copy of article first published in: BMC psychiatry, 2016, v.16, issue 12
• Contract Date: Apr 13, 2016