Measuring Adherence to Medication for Depression and Attention-deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Measuring Adherence to Standard-of-Care Medication for Depression and ADHD in a College Student Population

Poor adherence is a common reason for treatment failure in many fields of medicine, and likely affects common psychiatric treatments as well. Members of the present study team have used Medication Event Monitoring System (MEMS®) caps effectively to objectively monitor adherence in skin disease, and have shown that they provide a much more accurate measure of adherence behavior than self-reports, pill counts, or serum drug concentrations. The present study will use MEMS® caps to measure adherence in 10 patients with depression and 10 patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from a student clinic population. The aims will be to show the usefulness of MEMS® caps in measuring adherence to psychiatric treatment, and gather data on typical adherence rates for depression and ADHD patients on typical treatment regimens. The data obtained will be used to inform future studies that use an intervention to improve adherence behavior and ultimately disease outcomes.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Any male or female, at least 18 years of age, using the Student Health Clinic, with a diagnosis of depression or ADHD.
• Written consent of participation must be given by the subject.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Subject is less than 18 years of age.
• Inability to complete all study-related visits.
• Introduction of any other prescription medication while participating in the study. (Patients who are on a stable dose of non-study-related prescription medications for at least 4 weeks prior to the study, and throughout the study period, are not excluded.)
• Female patients whose medications may be harmful during pregnancy must be on an acceptable form of birth control, otherwise they will not be eligible for participation.