The effectiveness of therapeutic patient education on adherence to oral anti-cancer medicines in adult cancer patients 18 years and older in an ambulatory care setting: a systematic review protocol

Abstract

Review question In adult cancer patients, 18 years and older, what is the effectiveness of therapeutic patient education on adherence to oral anti-cancer medicines in an ambulatory care setting? Inclusion criteria Types of participants This review will consider studies that include all adult patients aged 18 and older, of any gender and ethnicity and diagnosed with any form of cancer, receiving oral anti-cancer medicines in an ambulatory care setting. Adult patients with cancer receiving intravenous or non-oral chemotherapy will be excluded from this review. Types of intervention(s) This review will consider studies that evaluate the use of therapeutic patient education as the additional intervention to routine patient education to promote oral anti-cancer medicine adherence in adult cancer patients in an ambulatory care setting. Therapeutic patient education is a coordinated set of educational activities proposed by a healthcare team that involve other professionals and family members. Therapeutic patient education can empower patients and family members to manage life with a chronic disease, based on a set of integrated and organized actions, including psychosocial support, designed to make patients and family members more autonomous by acquiring knowledge and skills to make them agents of their own change, thus improving their wellbeing and quality of life. Comparator Interventions will be compared with routine patient education. Routine patient education is defined as a process health care professionals regularly follow and utilize to communicate information to the patient that may alter one’s health behaviors or improve health status. Types of outcomes The primary outcome of this review is adherence to prescribed oral anti-cancer medicines. The definition of adherence encompasses the extent to which a person’s behavior when taking medication, following a diet, and/or accomplishing lifestyle changes follows or agrees with recommendations made by healthcare professionals. Adherence will be measured using validated and reliable tools that assess medication adherence including, the Medication Adherence Questionnaire the Morisky Medication Assessment Scale, the Medication Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale, the Medication Adherence Report Scale, the Beliefs about Medicine Questionnaire ,and the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire Studies with objective methods for measuring medication adherence will also be considered in this review TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS