Medication adherence assessment using real-world data
A Short Term Scientific Mission Serbia - Spain
As a pharmacist with a longstanding interest in adherence research, I was thrilled to discover the opportunity for an STSM through the ENABLE Project. While conducting literature research, I came across a research group whose papers and projects were highly relevant to my interests. I reached out to the leader of the group via email, and I was fortunate enough to receive the opportunity to collaborate with them. I participated in a three-month STSM at the research and innovation center Fundació de Recerca Sant Joan de Déu in Sant Boi de Llobregat, Barcelona, Spain, working with the leaders of the PRISMA research group, Antoni Serrano Blanco and Maria Rubio Valera, and their incredible team.
The ENABLE Project and the PRISMA research group have helped me learn about the use of real-world data (RWD) for investigating medication adherence in the treatment of mental health disorders, particularly among children and adolescents. Through this STSM, I gained hands-on experience in designing and conducting RWD studies aimed at assessing medication adherence and treatment non-initiation. Specifically, we analyzed RWD from the Public Data Analysis for Health Research and Innovation Program (PADRIS) database, which includes individual-level clinical and health resource utilization data across medication prescription and dispensing, as well as outpatient and inpatient services from all Catalan public healthcare system providers. The use of RWD offers unique opportunities for research on large study populations with long and comprehensive follow-up. The expertise I gained in methods and techniques for studying medication adherence during this STSM has substantially bolstered my ability to plan, design, and implement prospective studies. I am delighted that our collaboration is ongoing, and I look forward to the publication of our joint paper.
Furthermore, the ENABLE project has significantly expanded my understanding of digital tools and technologies that support medication adherence. Throughout my time there, we had insightful discussions about the ways of finding digital technologies available in Serbia. One of the technologies, a mobile app HealthLy, created by a Serbian company (described in detail in Ana’s blog), is already included in the repository and will, hopefully, become more visible and ultimately improve medication adherence and health outcomes for patients in several countries.
