Hypertension (HTN) and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) are common chronic diseases
addressed in primary care settings (Wang et al., 2018). Poor medication adherence creates
inferior outcomes in both populations (Doggrell, 2010; Stewart et al., 2014). This randomized
controlled trial using a pretest-posttest control group design examined whether the addition of an
occupational therapy intervention to usual care by a clinical pharmacist compared to usual care
alone affected medication adherence rates among adults with uncontrolled HTN and/or T2DM.
Twenty-nine participants were recruited from a primary care clinic after being referred to the
clinical pharmacist to improve HTN or T2DM management. Data from the seven-item
Adherence to Refills and Medication Scale (ARMS-7), stages of change measure, pill count,
blood pressure and/or hemoglobin A1c were collected. Both groups were found to be similar
across all demographic characteristics. The proportion of adherent participants (as measured by
the ARMS-7, blood pressure, and pill count) increased in both groups but between groups
changes were not statistically significant. A post hoc comparison of mixed ANOVA results for
ARMS-7 measurements indicated that the occupational therapy intervention was having a unique
effect as compared to the control. Effect scores for pill count (d = .55) also suggested that the
occupational therapy intervention was positively affecting adherence. While analyses of blood
pressure and A1c values were limited by missing data points, both groups demonstrated
improvement in these areas. Occupational therapists can be utilized to positively influence
medication adherence in a primary care setting.