Associations Between Patient Characteristics and the Amount of Arthritis Medication Information Patients Receive

Abstract

Little is known about factors associated with the receipt of medication information among arthritis patients. This study explores information source receipt and associations between demographic and clinical/patient characteristics and the amount of arthritis medication information patients receive. Adult patients with osteoarthritis (OA) or rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 328) completed an online cross-sectional survey. Patients reported demographic and clinical/patient characteristics and the amount of arthritis medication information received from 15 information sources. Bivariate and multivariate linear regression analyses were used to investigate whether those characteristics were associated with the amount of medication information patients received. Arthritis patients received the most information from health professionals, followed by printed materials, media sources, and interpersonal sources. Greater receipt of information was associated with greater medication adherence, taking more medications, greater medication-taking concerns, more satisfaction with doctor medication-related support, and Black compared to White race. RA patients reported receiving more information compared to OA patients, and differences were found between RA patients and OA patients in characteristics associated with more information receipt. In conclusion, arthritis patients received the most medication information from professional sources, and both positive (e.g., greater satisfaction with doctor support) and negative (e.g., more medication-taking concerns) characteristics were associated with receiving more medication information.