Evidence for Change: Effectiveness of Behaviour Change Techniques in Medication Adherence Interventions

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Evidence for Change: Effectiveness of Behaviour Change Techniques in Medication Adherence Interventions

Evidence for Change

Evidence for Change provides a quick, evidence-based overview of key behavioral science research that Atlantis Health applies in supporting patients to achieve optimal health outcomes.

Professor John Weinman of King's College London is recognized as one of the founders of modern health psychology. As Behavioral Science Lead of Europe at Atlantis Health, John works with the behavioral science team to bring the latest behavior change evidence and interventional approaches to improve patient understanding and support solution effectiveness that empower people living with long-term conditions to Change for Good.

Research selected

"Systematic Review Examining the Behavior Change Techniques in Medication Adherence Intervention Studies among People Living with Type 2 Diabetes." Teo, V., Weinman, J., & Yap, K. Z. (2024). Systematic Review Examining the Behavior Change Techniques in Medication Adherence Intervention Studies Among People With Type 2 Diabetes. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, kaae001

Relevance today

Challenge: Medication is essential for treating diabetes, but adopting a long-term routine for taking pills or injections is a significant behavior change that can be challenging for many. Approximately 40% of people living with Type 2 Diabetes do not take their medication as prescribed. Systematic reviews thus far have not been able to consistently identify the key ingredients for interventions that improve medication adherence among those living with this condition.

Our review is the first that has attempted to identify the specific behavior change techniques in medication adherence interventions for people living with Type 2 Diabetes. A behavior change technique is an observable, replicable, and irreducible active ingredient of an intervention that drives the target behavior.

This 2024 review explores and identifies behavior change techniques embedded within medication adherence interventions and outlines the characteristics of successful ones within the context of Type 2 Diabetes.

What the research tells us

55 randomized controlled trials were analyzed that covered 67 interventions and 28 behavior change techniques. We found that interventions containing behavior change techniques were significantly more effective than those without them. Additional important findings within the review included:

80% of interventions with multiple types of tailoring were successful

The majority of successful interventions used the 'credible source' technique

Key behavior change techniques were selected to address specific individual barriers.

We also found the more successful interventions used these additional behavior change techniques: Instruction on how to perform the behavior; Social support (practical); Action planning; and/ or Information about health consequences.

More effective interventions were personalized, and integrated health psychology theory in their development. We identified that interventions targeting multiple behaviors (rather than a focus on medication adherence behavior) may not address specific drivers underlying each behavior for an individual, resulting in lower success rates.

This suggests that interventions require:

An in-depth behavioral diagnosis prior to the co-design of interventions with key stakeholders
The use of evidence-based frameworks to personalize interventions
And behavior change techniques matched to each individual and their barriers to adherence

Interventions containing behavior change techniques were significantly more effective than interventions that did not.

Applying the research

Overall, this review shows the effectiveness of applying behavior change techniques in supporting Type 2 Diabetes medication adherence, and personalizing support interventions to match individual adherence barriers.

Atlantis Health designs and delivers personalized multichannel behavior change solutions that improve patient engagement and adherence to medications and other health behaviors across long-term health conditions.

Working with pharma, healthcare, and life sciences organizations, we co-design and deliver personalized behavior change solutions across multiple channels, including digital solutions.

Read more about one of our multichannel support programs in action for people managing Type 2 Diabetes.

Effective Behavior Change Techniques in Type 2 Diabetes Medication Adherence Interventions