■ Researchers led by Cecilia Hollenhorst, BA, of the University of Michigan Medical School, and Vanessa Elliott of Calvin College set out to determine the effectiveness of a personalized coaching program for lax medication compliers and what could be done to further improve compliance through the program. The 7-month study included 39 patients with a diagnosis of any kind of glaucoma or ocular hypertension who were age 40 or older and taking at least 1 glaucoma medication, self-administered their eye drops, and had poor glaucoma medication adherence (defined as taking ≤80% of prescribed medication doses assessed via electronic medication adherence monitors). All participants who completed the study were interviewed in person using a semistructured interview guide after the intervention. Participants were then grouped based on change in adherence. Thematic differences between groups were then examined.

Participants expressed positive views toward the program overall (95%, n=37/39). They perceived program components as working together to improve their medication adherence. Interactions with the glaucoma coach, motivation to aid personal change, personalized glaucoma education, and the electronic reminders and hearing their adherence score were most commonly cited by participants as helpful program elements contributing to improved adherence. Patients expressed a desire for personalized education to be a standard part of glaucoma care. Participants who demonstrated more improvement in adherence had a more trusting attitude toward the adherence score and a greater magnitude of perceived personal need to improve adherence. The researchers, who reported their results in Ophthalmology Glaucoma, concluded that participants reported a highly positive response to the in-person glaucoma education and motivational interviewing intervention used in conjunction with automated adherence reminders.