Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesResearch article
Exploring Medication Adherence in Heart Failure From a Patient Perspective: A Qualitative Study
- qualitative study
- focus groups and in-depth interviews
- inductive thematic analysis
Authors' conclusion
Patients with heart failure experience MA as a dynamic process of integrating treatment into daily life rather than a matter of motivation alone. Effective MA support requires regimen simplification, explicit diuretic planning, psychosocial and cost screening, and coordinated multidisciplinary follow-up, including pharmacist involvement. These findings provide patient-derived evidence to inform heart failure-specific MA assessment in routine clinical practice.
Study context
- Population
- Patients with heart failure recruited from the Icelandic Heart Failure Registry and a cardiac rehabilitation program4 focus groups and 12 in-depth interviews (May 2022-November 2023)
- Participants
- 27 patients
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Themes influencing medication adherence
- Practical aspects of medication use, including daily routines, dose timing, medication adherence (MA) aids, formulation challenges, and polypharmacy
- Psychosocial influences, such as stress, mood, cognition, social support, and socioeconomic context
- Interactions with the health care system and providers, including education, follow-up, access, costs, patient-provider relationships, and home support
- Disease- and medication-related factors, including symptoms, physical limitations, diuretic burden, and side effects
- MA was most consistent when regimens aligned with daily life and when tolerability, follow-up, psychosocial needs, and costs were addressed proactively
- Four interdependent themes
Original publication
Exploring Medication Adherence in Heart Failure From a Patient Perspective: A Qualitative Study. Circ Heart Fail. Published 10 May 2026. doi:10.1161/circheartfailure.125.014133
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it