Current practice and clinicians’ perception of medication non-adherence in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: A survey of 98 clinicians

Table 1 Respondents’ demographics, self-reported expertise and scope of inflammatory bowel disease practice

		Frequency	Percentage
Sex	Male	46	47%
	Female	52	53%
Age, yr	20-29	7	7%
	30-44	45	46%
	45-60	40	41%
	> 60	6	6%
Years in practice, yr	< 5	11	11%
	5-9	21	22%
	10-14	17	17%
	15-19	10	10%
	≥ 20	39	40%
Profession	Gastroenterology trainee	17	17%
	Gastroenterology consultant	51	52%
	IBD nurse specialist	28	29%
	Other	2	2%
Geographic region	England	92	95%
	Scotland	2	2%
	Wales	2	2%
	Northern Ireland	1	1%
Self-rated level of IBD interest in medically qualified staff	General gastroenterologist	32	46%
	Interest in IBD	18	27%
	Expert IBD physician	18	27%
IBD patients per week	Range 0-150
	Mean 25

IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease.

Table 2 Estimation of non-adherence levels by respondents and percentage in line with evidence

Medication	Column A: literature-based non-adherence levels	Column B: perceived mean non-adherence levels	Proportion who estimated non-adherence levels below the levels in column A
Mesalazine	30%-45%	20%	31%
Immunomodulator therapy	15%-20%	10%	28%
Biological agents	5%-10%	1%	23%

Table 3 Association between perception of non-adherence as a frequent problem and reporting non-adherence levels in line with the evidence base

Medication	χ2 value	Degrees of freedom	P value
Mesalazine	33.226	1	0.000
Immunomodulator therapy	12.592	2	0.002
Biological agents	7.459	1	0.006

Table 4 Association between level of interest in inflammatory bowel disease and estimation of non-adherence to biological therapy

Pearsonχ2 test		What percentage of your patients on biological therapy are non-adherent?
Level of interest in IBD for medical staff	χ2 value	8.863
	Degrees of freedom	2.000
	P value	0.012

IBD: Inflammatory bowel disease.

Table 5 Perception of reasons for non-adherence

Rank	Actual side effects of medication	Patient forgets to take medication	Benefits of medication not immediately apparent	Anxiety or depression	Poor patient knowledge of disease	Frequency of dosing	Beliefs about necessity of medication	Concerns over potential side effects
Ranked 1st	14.60%	32.30%	13.70%	5.30%	7.30%	9.60%	12.40%	11.30%
Ranked 2nd	9.40%	25%	20%	7.40%	11.50%	18.10%	23.70%	14.40%
Ranked 3rd	7.30%	11.50%	18.90%	8.40%	8.30%	21.30%	20.60%	23.70%
Ranked 4th	14.60%	7.30%	11.60%	7.40%	18.80%	11.70%	15.50%	12.40%
Ranked 5th	10.40%	12.50%	16.80%	13.70%	14.60%	9.60%	10.30%	16.50%
Ranked 6th	24%	3.10%	9.50%	16.80%	18.80%	13.80%	8.20%	9.30%
Ranked 7th	10.40%	4.20%	5.30%	16.80%	14.60%	8.50%	3.10%	9.30%
Ranked 8th	9.40%	4.20%	4.20%	24.20%	6.30%	7.40%	6.20%	3.10%
Ranked in top 3 by n =	30	66	50	20	26	46	55	48
Overall rank	6	1	3	8	7	5	2	4