22nd ESPACOMP Conference

http://www.espacomp.eu/

 

ESPACOMP (European Society for PAtient Adherence, COMpliance and Persistence) organizes annual conferences for researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and others focusing on the science of medication adherence. This year's ESPACOMP conference was centred on Implementation Science and Polypharmacy. 

From the title, the two main aspects developed during the conference were:

1. Implementation science
2. Polypharmacy

If the second is generally defined and known, the first one seems to be still confused and new as a topic. Many definitions were given throughout the event, but we could summarize it as:

“the scientific study of methods to promote the systematic uptake of research findings and other evidence-based practices into routine practice, and, hence, to improve the quality and effectiveness of health services. It includes the study of influences on healthcare professional and organisational behaviour” ¹

The event concerned numerous aspects related to medication adherence, such as the importance of studying and acknowledging patients’ beliefs, which is one of the most influent factor of patient adherence.

Polypharmacy and multi-morbidity are now current challenges that health professionals more and more often encounter in their practice. Many researches were presented as possible solutions to overcome the difficulty in appropriate prescribing (as well as deprescribing).

The conference held several parallel sessions, enhancing the commitment and the interest of the whole audience (sessions’ themes shown below):

• A1: Determinants of Adherence
• A2: Polypharmacy and Impact on Adherence
• A3: From measurement to implementation
• A4: The Clinical and Economic impact of Adherence
• A5: Methods to Measure Adherence
• A6: Interventions to Address Adherence

The implementation science is now getting to a mature point of dissemination; the shared purpose of all interventions and research is to gain effectiveness in health care service and its appropriateness.

Scaling-up the interventions proposed is not always easy applicable, but it should be a fundamental requirement for every new project and/or process.

At the end of the congress, the ESPACOMP Medication Adherence Reporting Guidelines (EMERGE)² was presented, giving a starting point for future studies’ approach to adherence to medications.

 

References

1. Eccles MP, Mittman BS. Welcome to Implementation Science. Implement Sci. 2006;1:1. Published 2006 Feb 22. doi:10.1186/1748-5908-1-1
2. De Geest S, Zullig LL, Dunbar-Jacob J, Helmy R, Hughes DA, Wilson IB, Vrijens B. ESPACOMP Medication Adherence Reporting Guideline (EMERGE). Ann Intern Med. 2018 Jul 3;169(1):30-35. doi: 10.7326/M18-0543.