A Trial to Assess the Influence of a Pictorial Medication Calendar on Medication Taking Behaviour

Primary Objective: In order to evaluate the impact of such an approach on adherence, a prospective, open-label, randomized controlled pilot trial (RCT) was carried out to determine if a picture-based medication calendar would improve patient adherence to antiemetic medication regimens for adult patients receiving chemotherapy treatment for solid organ tumor origins.

The secondary objectives were: 1) to assess medication use and self-efficacy parameters, 2) to determine patient comfort with antiemetic regimen prescribed along with chemotherapy and 3) to determine patient satisfaction with the calendar study tool.

Inclusion criteria

• Outpatients 18 years or older receiving chemotherapy treatment for neoadjuvant or adjuvant solid organ cancers,
• Able to provide consent for themselves,
• Calendar was only available in the English language, thus fluency in English was required.

Exclusion criteria

• Participants who did not attain a minimum of grade 8 education,
• Significant visual impairment that precluded the ability to read the picture-based medication calendar,
• Difficulty swallowing with requirement for liquid formulations of medications,
• If planned to receive multiple cycles of chemotherapy at satellite oncology location instead of main study site,
• If unable to repeat the instructions back to research personnel or a care provider had to speak on the participant's behalf, the participant was withdrawn from the study.