Student and Community Perceptions on Reasons for Medication Non-Adherence Daraoun Mashrah, PharmD Candidate and Patricia Darbishire, PharmD Purdue University College of Pharmacy, West Lafayette, IN OBJECTIVE RESULTS The purpose of this project was to: improve medication adherence to prescription medications. understand the complexity of factors that contribute to medication non-adherence. explore the differences in the perception of pharmacy students. with those of patients regarding non-adherence factors Ranked order of significance Patients N=310 2010-2012 Students N=286 2013-2015 1 Too many Forget 2 Too expensive 3 4 Drink alcohol Schedule too complex 5 Interferes with lifestyle Don't understand importance 6 Difficult to swallow Confusing dosing 7 Don't understand purpose 8 Difficult to open bottle 9 Poor instructions 10 Interferes with sex No transportation 11 Physical condition 12 Vision / difficult to read Vision/ difficult to read 13 14 15 16 BACKGROUND Medication non-adherence is a national epidemic that results in a substantial increase in healthcare utilization and costs, poor health outcomes, and an overall decreased quality of life. Identifying and understanding reasons for non-adherence leads to educational opportunities in didactic, laboratory, and experiential healthcare curricula. A significant difference was found between patients’ and students’ reasons for medication non-adherence. (4.38, 3.42), t (15) = 5.11, p < .001, d =1.27, based on four years of data. Patients and students were in agreement of the top three reasons for medication non-adherence. Patients indicated the number one reason for non-adherence is too many medications, whereas students believe it is forgetfulness. METHODS 286 pharmacy students and 310 patients participated in this experiential assignment Patients with medication non-adherence were recruited voluntarily from Midwest community pharmacies by students. Patient selection was based on evidence of non-adherence from medication profiles and voluntary participation in the assignment Data was collected over a four-year period, resulting in two years of information on patient perceptions and two years on student perceptions The researchers’ ranked the data and examined it in light of existing medication adherence literature, as well as in relationship to articles associated with student education on this topic Patients stated: Cost of medication and interference with aspects of lifestyle, such as sexual health and drinking alcohol, were significant issues Students believed: Confusion, dosing complexity and lack of understanding were the primary problems with most patients. Physical disabilities and logistical issues such as transportation were ranked lowest among both groups REFLECTION AND CONCLUSION Through our literature search and project results we determined that many factors lead to medication non-adherence, and more importantly, that individual patient characteristics greatly impact these factors. Students and patients differ in their perceptions of the importance of these reasons. Educating student practitioners on variations in beliefs and perspectives is key in improving medication adherence. Adherence education should be transitional and strategically placed in the classroom, practice laboratories, and in experiential education. This will help ensure that training translates into clinical expertise. This knowledge can be generalized for use at other colleges of pharmacy, as well as within other healthcare discipline curricula to help better educate future practitioners.