Empowering patients to adhere to their treatment regimens: A multifaceted approach

Efficacy of the ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE healthcare transition syllabus among pre- and posttransplant adolescents in Cali, Colombia

BACKGROUND

To achieve optimal outcomes, adolescents with chronic or end-stage kidney disease must undergo healthcare transition (HCT) preparation from a pediatric- to an adult-focused setting. The pediatric nephrology group at the Fundación Valle del Líli in Cali, Colombia, collaborated with the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill STARx Program and Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez to start an HCT preparation program using their tools. The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of the "ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE" syllabus (Spanish version) and its effects on HCT readiness in young patients with kidney failure, including renal transplants.

METHODS

We conducted a pre-test/post-test quasi-experimental study without control group in 11- to 21-year-old consecutive patients with kidney failure followed at the Fundación Valle de Lili. Using the TRxANSITION Index, we measured HCT readiness skills before and after implementing the "ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE" syllabus, an educational curriculum delivered in three monthly 2-hour sessions. Analysis was performed using linear mixed models in R Studio software to evaluate intervention effects while accounting for participant characteristics.

RESULTS

We enrolled 35 patients (57% female, median age 15.4 years [IQR: 12.6-17.1]). Most patients (77%) had received dialysis pre-transplant and 68% had congenital anomalies of the kidneys and urinary tract. Mothers were primary caregivers for 85% of patients. Linear mixed models showed that post-intervention scores increased significantly across all measures (β = 3.28, 95% CI 2.64-3.92, p < 0.001 for transition scores; β = 1.93, 95% CI 1.48-2.38, p < 0.001 for parent scores; β = 9.31, 95% CI 7.66-10.96, p < 0.001 for total scores). College education was associated with higher baseline scores (β = 2.38, 95% CI 0.42-4.35, p = 0.019 for transition scores; β = 7.58, 95% CI 1.23-13.93, p = 0.021 for total scores). Male participants showed slightly lower initial scores (β = - 0.88, 95% CI - 1.76 to 0.00, p = 0.051).

CONCLUSION

In this cohort of youth with kidney failure from Cali, Colombia, implementation of the Spanish version of the "ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE" syllabus was associated with significant improvements in HCT readiness. Linear mixed models demonstrated robust intervention effects across all domains, with educational level emerging as a significant moderator of intervention effectiveness. Further longitudinal studies are needed to evaluate the long-term impact and sustainability of these improvements in transition readiness scores.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

This study was retrospectively registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06836544, https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT06836544 ) on February 10, 2025.

Practices and Barriers in Developing and Disseminating Plain-Language Resources Reporting Medical Research Information: A Scoping Review

BACKGROUND

The intent of plain-language resources (PLRs) reporting medical research information is to advance health literacy among the general public and enable them to participate in shared decision-making (SDM). Regulatory mandates coupled with academic and industry initiatives have given rise to an increasing volume of PLRs summarizing medical research information. However, there is significant variability in the quality, format, readability, and dissemination channels for PLRs. In this scoping review, we identify current practices, guidance, and barriers in developing and disseminating PLRs reporting medical research information to the general public including patients and caregivers. We also report on the PLR preferences of these intended audiences.

METHODS

A literature search of three bibliographic databases (PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science) and three clinical trial registries (NIH, EMA, ISRCTN registry) was performed. Snowball searches within reference lists of primary articles were added. Articles with PLRs or reporting topics related to PLRs use and development available between January 2017 and June 2023 were identified. Evidence mapping and synthesis were used to make qualitative observations. Identified PLRs were quantitatively assessed, including temporal annual trends, availability by field of medicine, language, and publisher types.

RESULTS

A total of 9116 PLRs were identified, 9041 from the databases and 75 from clinical trial registries. The final analysis included 6590 PLRs from databases and 72 from registries. Reported barriers to PLR development included ambiguity in guidance, lack of incentives, and concerns of researchers writing for the general public. Available guidance recommendations called for greater dissemination, increased readability, and varied content formats. Patients preferred visual PLRs formats (e.g., videos, comics), which were easy to access on the internet and used short jargon-free text. In some instances, older audiences and more educated readers preferred text-only PLRs. Preferences among the general public were mostly similar to those of patients. Psychology, followed by oncology, showed the highest number of PLRs, predominantly from academia-sponsored research. Text-only PLRs were most commonly available, while graphical, digital, or online formats were less available. Preferred dissemination channels included paywall-free journal websites, indexing on PubMed, third-party websites, via email to research participants, and social media.

CONCLUSIONS

This scoping review maps current practices, recommendations, and patients' and the general public's preferences for PLR development and dissemination. The results suggest that making PLRs available to a wider audience by improving nomenclature, accessibility, and providing translations may contribute to empowerment and SDM. Minimizing variability among available guidance for PLR development may play an important role in amplifying the value and impact of these resources.

Publishing clinical trial results in plain language: a clash of ethical principles?

Plain language resources (PLR) are lay summaries of clinical trial results or plain language summaries of publications, in digital/visual/language formats. They aim to provide accurate information in jargon-free, and easy-to-understand language that can meet the health information needs of the general public, especially patients and caregivers. These are typically developed by the study sponsors or investigators, or by national public health bodies, research hospitals, patient organizations, and non-profit organizations. While the usefulness of PLR seems unequivocal, they have never been analyzed from the perspective of ethics. In this commentary, we do so and reflect on whether PLR are categorically advantageous or if they solve certain issues but raise new problems at the same time. Ethical concerns that PLR can potentially address include but are not limited to individual and community level health literacy, patient empowerment and autonomy. We also highlight the ethical issues that PLR may potentially exacerbate, such as fair balanced presentation and interpretation of medical knowledge, positive publication bias, and equitable access to information. PLR are important resources for patients, with promising implications for individual as well as community health. However, they require appropriate oversight and standards to optimize their potential value. Hence, we also highlight recommendations and best practices from our reading of the literature, that aim to minimize these biases.

Applications of motivational interviewing in adolescent solid organ transplant

BACKGROUND

Adolescence is a developmental period that is known for the highest risk of difficulties with adoption and maintenance of health behaviors for successful transplant. Motivational interviewing (MI) has been demonstrated to be an effective strategy in the management of modifiable factors impacting adherence in both adult transplant and analogous pediatric chronic illness populations.

AIMS

This paper describes MI and its applicability to adolescent transplant, providing examples of its potential use at each stage of the transplant journey.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Literature on the principles and utilization of MI are reviewed, as well as the use of MI in adult transplant and similar pediatric populations.

RESULTS

Evidence suggests high applicability of concepts of MI to pediatric transplant.

DISCUSSION

Systems-level factors influencing health behavior change are discussed, along with the importance of recognizing and managing provider bias in MI-based interactions. MI does not require a licensed behavioral health provider to use it effectively; rather, it can be used by various multidisciplinary team members throughout the course of clinical care.

CONCLUSION

MI shows great promise as a useful intervention through all stages in the transplant journey. Though particularly well-suited to adolescents, its principles are effective across the lifespan, including with caregivers. It represents an interactional style for use by multidisciplinary team members in many patient-and caregiver-facing scenarios. As the goal is to support the patient's autonomy in decision-making, it is important for providers to recognize their own biases. Further resources for training are provided.

My Kidney Identity: Contextualizing pediatric patients and their families kidney transplant journeys

BACKGROUND

Even though having a kidney transplant is the treatment of choice for children with kidney failure, it can cause anxiety for patients and their families resulting in decreased psychosocial functioning, adherence, and self-management. We set out to identify the information needs required to help pediatric patients and their families contextualize their posttransplant experiences as they recalibrate their understanding of normalcy throughout their transplant journey.

METHODS

Participants submitted photographs related to feeling: (1) worried, (2) confident, (3) similar to peers without kidney disease, and (4) different from these peers. The photographs served as a foundation for an in-depth interview.

RESULTS

Nineteen individuals (10 pediatric transplant recipients and 9 caregivers) were interviewed at a mean of 8 years posttransplant. We identified five specific themes and tensions our participants associated with recalibrating their version of "normal" throughout the transplant journey: (1) exchanging information (information consumers vs. information contributors, (2) transitional management (family management vs. self-management), (3) building confidence (worry vs. confidence), (4) telling one's story (hiding vs. self-expression), and (5) normalizing kidney transplantation (feeling different vs. feeling similar). These five themes/tensions form one's Kidney Identity, shift from negative to positive throughout the transplant journey, illustrating a more abstract and complex account of kidney transplantation over time.

CONCLUSIONS

Having a patient view their Kidney Identity over time may support self-reflection of one's progress posttransplant and potentially help clinicians, patients, and their caregivers identify barriers and areas where they may need more support to ensure their successful engagement in their care.

Personality Traits and Cardiotoxicity Arising From Cancer Treatments: An Hypothesized Relationship

Thanks to the evolution in medical and pharmaceutical research, to date, the number of cancer treatments is increasingly on the rise. Despite this, several side effects related to cancer treatments can exacerbate patients’ physical and psychological conditions, such as cardiotoxicity. Over the years, researchers have explored the possible relationship between psychological variables and physical diseases. Even though some authors examined the relationship between personality and specific diseases, no scientific attention has been paid to the role of personality in the development of cardiotoxicity arising from cancer treatments. Yet this is an important objective, given that determining whether personality influences cardiac toxicity of anticancer treatments could inform the processes by which stable psychological factors influence health. This contribution summarizes and analyzes the available scientific evidence about the association between personality and main cardiotoxicity-related-diseases of anticancer therapies, including cancer and cardiovascular diseases, in order to sketch a hypothetical model of the relationship between personality traits and cardiotoxicity.

Adherence to Treatment and Glycemic Control in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A 4-Year Follow-up PTM Bogor Cohort Study, Indonesia

PURPOSE

Large-scale evaluation of the treatment adherence in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM) in Indonesian is limited. We aim to evaluate the treatment adherence of Indonesian type 2 DM patients using national "big data" and investigate its association with glycemic parameters.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We analyzed baseline and fourth-year data sets from 2011 to 2018 obtained from the Indonesian Ministry of Health Cohort Study of Non-Communicable Disease Risk Factors in Bogor, West Java (the PTM Bogor Cohort Study). This was a retrospective cohort study in which the sample was divided into two groups. One group adhered to treatment from primary health centers and followed the prescribed medicine/treatment regimen (treated group), while the other did not follow the treatment (untreated group). We evaluated changes in fasting blood glucose (FBG) and post-prandial blood glucose (PPBG) by controlling for other variables.

RESULTS

From 5690 subjects, 593 were type 2 DM diagnosed and 342 were eligible at the baseline. At 4-year observation, 212 eligible patients remained, consisting of 62 subjects who adhered to treatment, and more than double that number who were untreated (150 subjects). More significant decreases in FBG and PPBG were found in the treated group (FBG 80.6%, PPBG 90.3%) than in the untreated group (FBG 42.0%, PPBG 67.3%). The results of the multivariate analysis showed that after 4 years observation, treated patients have reduced FBG 3.304 times more and PPBG 3.064 times more than untreated patients, with control factors such as decrease in LDL levels and use of oral drugs.

CONCLUSION

There were less than half as many treated patients as untreated patients involved in the PTM Bogor Study Group. At the fourth-year follow-up, treated patients experienced three times more significant decreases in FBG and PPBG than those who were untreated, even after being controlled by several confounding factors. Given the importance of these findings, it is suggested that immediate strategic action be taken to improve Indonesian patients' adherence to treatment.