Effect of an in-hospital medication self-management intervention (SelfMED) on medication adherence in polypharmacy patients postdischarge: protocol of a pre–post intervention study

Abstract

Introduction Healthcare providers usually manage medication for patients during hospitalisation, although patients are expected to self-manage their medication after discharge. A lack of self-management competencies is found to be associated with low adherence levels and medication errors harming patients’ health. Currently, patients seldom receive support or education in medication self-management. When self-management is allowed during hospitalisation, it is rarely provided using a structured, evidence-based format. Therefore, an in-hospital medication self-management intervention (ie, SelfMED) was developed based on current evidence. To date, empirical data demonstrating the effect of SelfMED on medication adherence are lacking. This study primarily aims to evaluate the effect of the SelfMED intervention on medication adherence 2 months postdischarge in polypharmacy patients, as compared with usual care.Methods and analysis A multicentre pre–post intervention study will be conducted. The study will start with a control phase investigating usual care (ie, medication management entirely provided by healthcare providers), followed by an intervention period, investigating the effects of the SelfMED intervention. SelfMED consists of multiple components: (1) a stepped assessment evaluating patients’ eligibility for in-hospital medication self-management, (2) a monitoring system allowing healthcare providers to follow up medication management and detect problems and (3) a supportive tool providing healthcare providers with a resource to act on observed problems with medication self-management. Polymedicated patients recruited during the control and intervention periods will be monitored for 2 months postdischarge. A total of 225 participants with polypharmacy should be included in each group. Medication adherence 2 months postdischarge, measured by pill counts, will be the primary outcome. Secondary outcomes include self-management, medication knowledge, patient and staff satisfaction, perceived workload and healthcare service utilisation.Ethics and dissemination The ethics committee of the Antwerp University Hospital approved the study (reference no: B3002023000176). Study findings will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, conference presentations and summaries in layman’s terms.Trial registration number ISRCTN15132085.