Medication beliefs, adherence, and outcomes in people with asthma: The importance of treatment beliefs in understanding inhaled corticosteroid nonadherence—a retrospective analysis of a real-world data set

Understanding beliefs about inhaled medication in patients with persistent asthma: a cross-sectional analysis of the INSPIRERS studies

“…Adolescents had significantly lower Necessity (Median[p25-75] 15.5 [18,20] vs 20 [17,22]; p<0.001) and Concerns (Median 11 [14,17] vs 15 [12,18]; p=0.002) scores compared to adults. Female patients had significantly higher Necessity scores (19 [16,22] vs 19 [16,21]; p=0.037) compared to male patients. Regarding socioeconomic level, patients living in least-deprived regions (had significantly higher Necessity scores (20 [17,23] vs 19 [16,21]; p=0.010) and Necessity-Concerns differential (5 [1,8] vs 3[0,6]; p=0.04) than those from most deprived regions.…”

“…The existing literature describing the beliefs about medicines in patients with asthma is heterogeneous, often with small sample sizes and mostly recruited from a single setting (17)(18)(19)(20). A recent study conducted in a large real-world adult population from the United States and five European countries concluded that, in line with previous studies, higher perceived necessity and lower concerns about medication were associated with better adherence in patients with asthma (21). It should be noted that Portugal was not included in this study and, to our knowledge, there is no real-world data available on the beliefs of Portuguese patients with asthma.…”

“…. Patients prescribed with more than one inhaler had significant higher Necessity scores (Median 20 [17,22] vs 19 [16,21]; p=0.007) compared to those prescribed with only one inhaler.…”

“…Regarding socioeconomic level, patients living in least-deprived regions (had significantly higher Necessity scores (20 [17,23] vs 19 [16,21]; p=0.010) and Necessity-Concerns differential (5 [1,8] vs 3[0,6]; p=0.04) than those from most deprived regions. Patients recruited in primary care setting had significantly lower median scores for Necessity (18 [16,21] vs 19 [17,22]; p=0.027) and Concerns (14 [11,17] vs 15 [12,18], p=0.05) than those recruited in the secondary care setting.…”

“…It should be noted that Portugal was not included in this study and, to our knowledge, there is no real-world data available on the beliefs of Portuguese patients with asthma. While previous studies have explored the beliefs about medication in adults (14,15,17,18,21) and, to a lesser extent, in adolescents (19,22), no studies have compared these beliefs in the two age groups.…”