Yuichiro Tsunemi1, Shinya Abe2, Miwa Kobayashi3, Yuki Kitami4, Daisuke Onozuka5, Akihito Hagihara5, Satoshi Takeuchi6, Hiroyuki Murota7, Makoto Sugaya8, Koji Masuda9, Takaaki Hiragun10, Sakae Kaneko11, Hidehisa Saeki12, Yoichi Shintani13, Miki Tanioka14, Shinichi Imafuku15, Masatoshi Abe16, Naoko Inomata17, Donald E Morisky18, Masutaka Furue19, Norito Katoh9. 1. Department of Dermatology, Tokyo Women's Medical University, 8-1 Kawada-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8666, Japan. 2. Department of Dermatology, Kanazawa Medical University, Ishikawa, Japan. 3. Department of Dermatology, University of Occupational and Environmental Health, Fukuoka, Japan. 4. Department of Dermatology, Showa University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. 5. Department of Health Communication, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan. 6. Department of Dermatology, Federation of National Public Service Personnel Mutual Aid Associations, Hamanomachi Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan. 7. Department of Dermatology, Graduate School of Medicine, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan. 8. Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan. 9. Department of Dermatology, Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine, Kyoto, Japan. 10. Department of Dermatology, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. 11. Department of Dermatology, Shimane University Faculty of Medicine, Shimane, Japan. 12. Department of Dermatology, Nippon Medical School, Tokyo, Japan. 13. Department of Geriatric and Environmental Dermatology, Nagoya City University, Aichi, Japan. 14. Tanioka Dermatology Clinic, Kyoto, Japan. 15. Department of Dermatology, Faculty of Medicine, Fukuoka University, Fukuoka, Japan. 16. Kojinkai Sapporo Skin Clinic, Hokkaido, Japan. 17. Department of Environmental Immuno-Dermatology, Yokohama City University, Kanagawa, Japan. 18. Department of Community Health Sciences, UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, Los Angeles, CA, USA. 19. Department of Dermatology, Kyushu University Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Fukuoka, Japan.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Adherence is defined as the extent to which a person's behavior corresponds with recommendations from health care providers. Adherence to treatment is an important factor for a good therapeutic outcome. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the adherence of patients with tinea pedis and to clarify the factors related to it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed medication adherence for oral and topical drugs using a translated version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) together with other background factors in 445 Japanese patients with tinea pedis, using a questionnaire in a web-based monitoring system. RESULTS: Overall, high, medium and low adherence rates as assessed by MMAS-8 were 8.7%, 31.7% and 59.6% for oral medication, and 8.6%, 17.4% and 74.0% for topical medication, respectively. The adherence level was significantly higher for oral medication than for topical medication. Subgroup analyses showed that the adherence level for topical medication was significantly higher when topical and oral medications were used in combination than when topical medication was used alone. A low adherence level was shown in employed patients, those for whom their oral medication had not been effective and those with topical medication who had visited their hospital less often than once every six months. CONCLUSION: Patient adherence to therapy can be effectively improved by selecting highly effective medication while considering the prescription of topical and oral antifungal medications concomitantly, by carefully selecting a therapy plan for employed patients and by encouraging patients to visit their doctor regularly.
BACKGROUND: Adherence is defined as the extent to which a person's behavior corresponds with recommendations from health care providers. Adherence to treatment is an important factor for a good therapeutic outcome. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine the adherence of patients with tinea pedis and to clarify the factors related to it. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We assessed medication adherence for oral and topical drugs using a translated version of the Morisky Medication Adherence Scale-8 (MMAS-8) together with other background factors in 445 Japanese patients with tinea pedis, using a questionnaire in a web-based monitoring system. RESULTS: Overall, high, medium and low adherence rates as assessed by MMAS-8 were 8.7%, 31.7% and 59.6% for oral medication, and 8.6%, 17.4% and 74.0% for topical medication, respectively. The adherence level was significantly higher for oral medication than for topical medication. Subgroup analyses showed that the adherence level for topical medication was significantly higher when topical and oral medications were used in combination than when topical medication was used alone. A low adherence level was shown in employed patients, those for whom their oral medication had not been effective and those with topical medication who had visited their hospital less often than once every six months. CONCLUSION:Patient adherence to therapy can be effectively improved by selecting highly effective medication while considering the prescription of topical and oral antifungal medications concomitantly, by carefully selecting a therapy plan for employed patients and by encouraging patients to visit their doctor regularly.