Feasibility of the Integrative Medication Self-Management Intervention to Promote Medication Adherence

Half of participants received a manualized 30-minute occupational therapy intervention, Integrative Medication Self-Management Intervention (IMedS). During IMedS, the interventionist and client progress through three steps in which the pair: 1) reflect on past performance of medication management, 2) set a medication goal, and 3) generate strategies to reach the goal. During strategy generation, the interventionist uses therapeutic use of self and motivational interviewing to help the client self-generate new medication management strategies, specifically addressing 1) altering the activity, 2) advocacy, 3) education, 4) assistive technology, 5) environmental modifications, and 6) securing timely refills.

The standard care educational intervention was a 30-minute pamphlet based educational session. In the standard care intervention group, participants and interventionist first reviewed the pamphlet, Managing Your Medicines: Our Guide to Effective Medication Management (American Heart Association & American Stroke Association, 2013). Then, the interventionist engaged in active listening, where she asked open-ended questions about the participant's medication routines and provided simple reflections. For the standard care procedures, the interventionist was prohibited from providing affirmations, complex reflections, summaries, problem-solving, or suggesting any specific interventions.