Medication Adherence in Older Adults With Serious Mental Illness

NCT ID: NCT00224380

Last Updated: 2009-09-23

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 72 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2003-07-31
• Study Completion Date: 2005-02-28

Brief Summary

The goal of this pilot study is to learn about how well older people with serious mental illness (including schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression) follow prescribed medication regimens, and to evaluate a manualized intervention designed to enhance medication management skills and adherence, the Using Medications Effectively program. The following four hypotheses will be tested:

1. Medication adherence will be associated with several variables including insight, memory, medication management skill, knowledge about medications, attitudes about medications.

2. People who receive the program will have better medication adherence compared to those who do not receive the program as measured by pill counts.

3. People who receive the program will develop better medication management skills compared to those who do not receive the program.

Detailed Description

Individuals who are already participating in a study of a combined skills training and health care management intervention for older people with serious mental illness are invited to join this study. Half of the individuals have already been randomly assigned to receive the intervention and half have already been randomly assigned to continue receiving their usual care. The people receiving the intervention receive the skills training module, Using Medications Effectively, in 8 group sessions over 8 weeks. The module includes information about common medications used for psychiatric and medical illnesses; training on using devices to help take medications properly; and instruction on strategies to help incorporate medication taking into a daily routine. A trained research assistant conducts pill counts and interview sessions with all participants after they sign an informed consent form, 8 weeks later, and 3 months after the second interview.

Conditions

Schizophrenia; Bipolar Disorder; Depression

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Blinding Strategy: SINGLE

Interventions

Using Medications Effectively

Intervention Type: BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Participation in Rehabilitation and Health Care for Older People with SMI Serious mental illness (schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, bipolar disorder, major depression) and functional impairment Receiving mental health services for 3 months or more Age 50 or older Ability to provide informed consent or guardian consent -

Exclusion Criteria

Currently residing in an institution Psychiatric illness caused by co-morbid medical condition Dementia or score<20 on Mini Mental State Exam

-

• Minimum Eligible Age: 50 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Sponsors

Janssen, LP

INDUSTRY

Sponsor Role: collaborator

National Alliance for Research on Schizophrenia and Depression

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Principal Investigators

Sarah I Pratt, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Assistant Professor in Psychiatry, Dartmouth Medical School

Locations

Community Council of Nashua

Nashua, New Hampshire, United States

Countries

United States

Other Identifiers

MA200316456

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id