Published on December 6 2019 – Marcia Vervloet (NIVEL, ACHC) and Annemiek Linn (ACHC) received a ZonMw grant to improve therapy for inhalation medication, in terms of both technology and compliance. The grant amounts to more than 500,000 euros. Among other things, a PhD candidate will be appointed from this grant who will be supervised by Annemiek Linn, Marcia Vervloet and Liset van Dijk (NIVEL, University of Groningen). The project will start on 1 January 2020 and will run for 4 years.
Previous research shows that patients who use inhalation medication are not doing this optimally, both in terms of the technique they use and for how long they use it. The goal of the awarded grant is to develop an improved technique for using inhalation medication, as well as improving compliance with therapy. This will be achieved through a so-called blended intervention. The overall project goal will be achieved in two phases, namely (1) an online feedback communication training for pharmacy assistants and (2) a conversation preparation tool for both the patient and the assistant, whereby patients prepare the pharmacy visit through a so-called Question Prompt Sheet (QPS) on a web portal. They also answer questions about their views on inhaled medication, trust in their skills and possible other barriers to medication use. The assistant will subsequently prepare the pharmacy interview based on this information.
The project outcomes will – if proven effectiveness – be included in the Zorgpad Inhalatiemedica of Long Alliance Netherlands.
More information about the call can be found here (in Dutch).