OBJECTIVE: This prospective study tested whether implementation intentions increased adherence to short-term antibiotics in a patient sample. Implementation intentions specify exactly when and where an individual will undertake an activity. They may help people achieve health behaviours, such as taking medicines. METHODS: A total of 220 patients with an antibiotics prescription were randomly assigned to four groups (control, Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) questionnaire, TPB questionnaire+formed own implementation intention for taking the medicine, TPB questionnaire+researcher formed implementation intention). Participants were telephoned at the end of the course to record adherence. Two hundred and seven participants completed the study. RESULTS: At follow-up, adherence was high (75.8% reported no tablets left). Analysis revealed no significant difference in adherence between groups. CONCLUSION: High adherence to antibiotics was achieved, but not improved by implementation intentions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Providing information and telephone follow-up may have been the unintended effective intervention in this study.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: This prospective study tested whether implementation intentions increased adherence to short-term antibiotics in a patient sample. Implementation intentions specify exactly when and where an individual will undertake an activity. They may help people achieve health behaviours, such as taking medicines. METHODS: A total of 220 patients with an antibiotics prescription were randomly assigned to four groups (control, Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) questionnaire, TPB questionnaire+formed own implementation intention for taking the medicine, TPB questionnaire+researcher formed implementation intention). Participants were telephoned at the end of the course to record adherence. Two hundred and seven participants completed the study. RESULTS: At follow-up, adherence was high (75.8% reported no tablets left). Analysis revealed no significant difference in adherence between groups. CONCLUSION: High adherence to antibiotics was achieved, but not improved by implementation intentions. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Providing information and telephone follow-up may have been the unintended effective intervention in this study.
Authors: Maarten Lambert; Chloé C H Smit; Stijn De Vos; Ria Benko; Carl Llor; W John Paget; Kathryn Briant; Lisa Pont; Liset Van Dijk; Katja Taxis Journal: Br J Clin Pharmacol Date: 2022-02-28 Impact factor: 3.716