- The Role of Pharmacists’ Interventions in Increasing Medication Adherence of Patients With Epilepsy: A Scoping Review
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Iin Ernawati, Nanang Munif Yasin, Ismail Setyopranoto, Zullies Ikawati
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J Prev Med Public Health. 2024;57(3):212-222. Published online April 25, 2024
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.23.592
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Abstract
Summary
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- Objectives
Epilepsy is a chronic disease that requires long-term treatment and intervention from health workers. Medication adherence is a factor that influences the success of therapy for patients with epilepsy. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the role of pharmacists in improving the clinical outcomes of epilepsy patients, focusing on medication adherence.
Methods A scoping literature search was conducted through the ScienceDirect, PubMed, and Google Scholar databases. The literature search included all original articles published in English until August 2023 for which the full text was available. This scoping review was carried out by a team consisting of pharmacists and neurologists following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) Extension for Scoping Reviews and the Joanna Briggs Institute guidelines, including 5 steps: identifying research questions, finding relevant articles, selecting articles, presenting data, and compiling the results.
Results The literature search yielded 10 studies that discussed pharmacist interventions for patients with epilepsy. Five articles described educational interventions involving drug-related counseling with pharmacists. Two articles focused on similar pharmacist interventions through patient education, both verbal and written. Three articles discussed an epilepsy review service, a multidisciplinary intervention program involving pharmacists and other health workers, and a mixed intervention combining education and training with therapy-based behavioral interventions.
Conclusions Pharmacist interventions have been shown to be effective in improving medication adherence in patients with epilepsy. Furthermore, these interventions play a crucial role in improving other therapeutic outcomes, including patients’ knowledge of self-management, perceptions of illness, the efficacy of antiepileptic drugs in controlling seizures, and overall quality of life.
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Summary
Key Message
Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease that requires long-term treatment and support from health workers, including pharmacists. Pharmacists can provide interventions independently or in collaboration with other health workers, including treatment education through counseling (essential information about the condition, insights into epilepsy, seizure triggers, and antiepileptic drugs) and education and training with therapy-based behavioral interventions (reminders and skill-based psychological support). Pharmacist intervention is known to increase medication adherence, which is an important factor in the success of therapy for epilepsy patients and can improve other therapy outcomes such as increasing knowledge of epilepsy, seizure control, and quality of life.
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