A poster presentation found that nonadherent patients rate their concern at a 7.1, whereas adherent patients rate it at an 8.4.
By Sree Roy
“Adherence is a problem for all treatments for chronic conditions. Lack of compliance probably kills as many people as any other problem,” says Allen R. Firestone, DDS, MS, to Dental Sleep Corner. Firestone answered questions about he and colleagues’ poster presentation “Knowledge and Concern about Adherent and Non-Adherent OSA Patients” at the American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine (AADSM) 25th Anniversary Meeting in Denver.
Eighty patients who had received an oral appliance rated their perceived knowledge about obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on a scale from 0 to 10, with 0 meaning having no knowledge. They also rated their concern about the consequences of untreated OSA on a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 meaning unconcerned.
The results may have implications for how clinicians convey the consequences of untreated OSA to their patients.
The difference between the two groups—adherent to oral appliances and nonadherent to oral appliances—in their professed knowledge of OSA was not statistically significant (7.7 in the adherent group and 8.1 in the nonadherent group). But the difference between their concern about the consequences of untreated OSA was statistically significant: 8.4 for the adherent group and 7.1 for the nonadherent group. “This could be a reason why the non-adherent group did not continue treatment, or it could be a justification for why they were non-adherent,” the authors state in their poster.
What are the clinical implications of this finding?
Firestone is conducting research to find out. He wants to know if reviewing the consequences of untreated OSA with both the patient and their significant other at the same time will make a difference in outcomes. Also, he plans to explore whether e-mail, text, or phone reminders of the patients’ self-reported goals or if sending informational pamphlets to patients about OSA will increase adherence.
If any of these educational interventions are found to make a difference, then clinicians may have additional strategies to effectively convey the dire consequences of untreated OSA and thereby improve patient adherence.
The post Patients Who Are Nonadherent to Oral Appliance Therapy Also Report Less Concern About Consequences of Untreated Obstructive Sleep Apnea Use Than Their Adherent Counterparts appeared first on Dental Sleep Corner.