The Role of Health Education in Improving Patient Compliance with Zoledronic Acid

Suming Jie,Enjing Chen,Jinmei Deng,Xiuzhen Cai,Caixia Lin,Dongmei Cai,Ermei Jie

doi:10.4236/ojn.2018.810053

Abstract

Objective: To define the role of health education in improving patient compliance with Zoledronic Acid for osteoporosis treatment and management and draw closer attention of patients and physicians to the importance of health education. Methods: A total of 198 postmenopausal patients with osteoporosis who were admitted by the osteoporosis outpatient clinic of our hospital and had the first administration of Zoledronic Acid in 2015 were invited to participate in the follow-up visit that involved questions concerning the frequency of health education and the questionnaire survey on osteoporosis in 2015 and the administration of Zoledronic Acid during the past three years. The patients were divided into five groups according to the frequency of health education to compare the survey results of each group in 2015 and 2018 and investigate the differences in the scores and frequency of administration among the five groups. Results: Among the 198 patients, there were 182 attending the follow-up visit. In terms of the frequency of health education (FREQ = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4), these patients were divided into five groups of 47, 63, 35, 18 and 19 members respectively. After three years of treatment, the questionnaire score of each group was higher than the pre-treatment level and the difference showed statistical significance (p < 0.05, respectively); compared to those who had never received health education (FREQ = 0), the patients who had participated in health education activities at different levels (FREQ = 1, 2, 3, 4) scored significantly higher in the questionnaire survey and increased the frequency of administration of Zoledronic Acid on average; particularly, those who had received health education and Zoledronic Acid treatment twice and above benefited the most. Conclusion: Health education is an effective approach to influence a patient’s knowledge connected to relevant diseases in a positive way and improve patient compliance with Zoledronic Acid treatment. An enhanced health education program can be developed to assist the patients in chronic disease management.

Highlights

Osteoporosis (OP) has become a common disease in the aging society
A total of 198 postmenopausal patients with osteoporosis who were admitted by the osteoporosis outpatient clinic of our hospital and had the first administration of Zoledronic Acid in 2015 were invited to participate in the follow-up visit that involved questions concerning the frequency of health education and the questionnaire survey on osteoporosis in 2015 and the administration of Zoledronic Acid during the past three years
After three years of treatment, the questionnaire score of each group was higher than the pre-treatment level and the difference showed statistical significance (p < 0.05, respectively); compared to those who had never received health education (FREQ = 0), the patients who had participated in health education activities at different levels (FREQ = 1, 2, 3, 4) scored significantly higher in the questionnaire survey and increased the frequency of administration of Zoledronic Acid on average; those who had received health education and Zoledronic Acid treatment twice and above benefited the most

Summary

Introduction

Osteoporosis (OP) has become a common disease in the aging society. Despite its substantial morbidity, only a small size of the population has knowledge of the disease. Zoledronic Acid is a third-generation bisphosphonate that becomes the first-line therapy for osteoporosis as it only requires one intravenous injection per year, markedly increases a patient’s BMD and effectively reduces the risk of fractures [2]. It is likely to cause acutephase responses among the Zoledronic Acid-treated subjects during the treatment course, especially after the first administration—this reduces the patient compliance with a second dose. It is often recommended that a patient with osteoporosis receive Zoledronic Acid for three consecutive years; for the older patients having poor memories and complicated underlying diseases, they are less compliant with the sequential treatment at wide intervals [3] [4]. A patient having received health education appears to have a clearer understanding of the disease and show greater compliance with the corresponding treatment. Relevant health education programs were introduced to improve the compliance of the Zoledronic Acid-treated subjects

Methods

Results

Conclusion