Optimal scaling and contingency tables reveal the mismatch between patients’ attitude and perception towards their asthma medications and complaints during the I-MUR service provision

Abstract

Asthma prevalence is increasing and the economic loss due to lack of asthma control is €72 billion in EU 28. Pharmacists have
a role to play, and a bespoke novel pharmacist-led intervention for asthma patients, called Italian Medicines Use Review (IMUR),
has shown both effectiveness and cost-effectiveness. The I-MUR intervention enables asthma patients to optimise the
effect of their medications. This study aimed at assessing the mismatch between patients’ attitude-perception towards their
medications and their complaints during the I-MUR service provision. The I-MUR was provided in four different Italian
locations; data were collected and analysed using descriptive statistics, optimal scaling and contingency tables. The number
of pharmacists and asthma patients involved in the study was 74 and 895 respectively. The majority of patients (72%) did not
believe that they had problems with their medications, 78% confirmed that they had full knowledge and understanding of their medications, 75% said that their medications were working and 45% confirmed that they missed a dose. The number of patients who raised complaints was 683 (76%) and the number of complaints raised by each patient ranged between 1 to 5. Only 18% of the patient population reporter having neither medicine-related problems nor asthma-related complaints. The use of optimal scaling and contingency tables unveiled the mismatch between patients’ attitude-perception towards their medicines and the type and number of complaints raised by them during the I-MUR service provision.