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Research methods
Protocol
ESPACOMP Medication Adherence Reporting Guidelines (EMERGE): a reactive-Delphi study protocol
  1. R Helmy1,
  2. L L Zullig2,3,
  3. J Dunbar-Jacob4,
  4. D A Hughes5,
  5. B Vrijens6,7,
  6. I B Wilson8,
  7. S De Geest1,9
  1. 1Institute of Nursing Science, Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  2. 2Center for Health Services Research in Primary Care, Durham Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Durham, North Carolina, USA
  3. 3Department of Medicine, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina, USA
  4. 4School of Nursing, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
  5. 5Centre for Health Economics and Medicines Evaluation, Bangor University, Bangor, UK
  6. 6Department of Public Health, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium
  7. 7WestRock Healthcare, Visé, Belgium
  8. 8Department of Health Services, Policy & Practice, Brown University School of Public Health, Providence, Rhode Island, USA
  9. 9Academic Centre for Nursing and Midwifery, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
  1. Correspondence to Professor S De Geest; sabina.degeest{at}unibas.ch

Abstract

Introduction Medication adherence is fundamental to achieving optimal patient outcomes. Reporting research on medication adherence suffers from some issues—including conceptualisation, measurement and data analysis—that thwart its advancement. Using the ABC taxonomy for medication adherence as the conceptual basis, a steering committee of members of the European Society for Patient Adherence, COMpliance, and Persistence (ESPACOMP) launched an initiative to develop ESPACOMP Medication Adherence Reporting Guidelines (EMERGE). This paper is a protocol for a Delphi study that aims to build consensus among a group of topic experts regarding an item list that will support developing EMERGE.

Methods and analysis This study uses a reactive-Delphi design where a group of topic experts will be asked to rate the relevance and clarity of an initial list of items, in addition to suggesting further items and/or modifications of the initial items. The initial item list, generated by the EMERGE steering committee through a structured process, consists of 26 items distributed in 2 sections: 4 items representing the taxonomy-based minimum reporting criteria, and 22 items organised according to the common reporting sections. A purposive sample of experts will be selected from relevant disciplines and diverse geographical locations. Consensus will be achieved through predefined decision rules to keep, delete or modify the items. An iterative process of online survey rounds will be carried out until consensus is reached.

Ethics and dissemination An ethics approval was not required for the study according to the Swiss federal act on research involving human beings. The participating experts will be asked to give an informed consent. The results of this Delphi study will feed into EMERGE, which will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications and presentations at conferences. Additionally, the steering committee will encourage their endorsement by registering the guidelines at the Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research (EQUATOR) network and other relevant organisations.

  • Medication adherence
  • Medication compliance
  • Health research reporting guidelines
  • Delphi method
  • Study protocol

This is an Open Access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/

https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2016-013496

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    Footnotes

    • Contributors All persons listed as authors contributed to preparing the manuscript and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship were met. Specifically, the following contributions were made by the respective authors: RH contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, and the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; drafted the work and revised it critically; approved the final version to be published; agrees to be accountable for all aspects of the work. JD-J, DAH, BV, IBW and LLZ contributed substantially to the acquisition, analysis and interpretation of data for the work; revised the work critically; approved the final version to be published; agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work. SDG is the project's principal investigator who contributed substantially to the conception and design of the study, and the acquisition, analysis, and interpretation of data for the work; drafted the work and revised it critically; approved the final version to be published; agrees to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

    • Funding This study is funded by the European Society for Patient Adherence, COMpliance, and Persistence (ESPACOMP).

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.