Helping heart failure patients and their care partners take medications as prescribed
Tests nurse coaching with family support to help heart failure patients take their medicines.
Plain-language title generated from the registry record
Registry title: Improving Medication Adherence Using Family-focused and Literacy-sensitive Strategies
Key facts
- Where
- Lexington, United StatesSee the site
Where in United States
- Jia-Rong WuLexington, United StatesTaking people
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Trial details
- Who runs it
- Jia-Rong Wu
- Trial code
- NCT05548413
- Record updated
- 5 May 2026
- Original description
People with heart failure who do not take their medications as prescribed are at high risk of complications leading to hospitalization, death and poor quality of life. In the proposed intervention, nurses will use easy-to-understand language to coach patients and their care partners to help them work together and build skills to overcome their individual barriers to adherence in order to 1) improve and sustain patient medication adherence; 2) reduce hospitalization; 3) improve quality of life. If effective, this intervention will support long-term medication adherence, thus reducing hospitalizations related to heart failure and quality of life.Read full original descriptionShow less
Improving Medication Adherence Using Family-focused and Literacy-sensitive Strategies in Patients With Heart Failure
People with heart failure who do not take their medications as prescribed are at high risk of complications leading to hospitalization, death and poor quality of life. In the proposed intervention, nurses will use easy-to-understand language to coach patients and their care partners to help them work together and build skills to overcome their individual barriers to adherence in order to 1) improve and sustain patient medication adherence; 2) reduce hospitalization; 3) improve quality of life. If effective, this intervention will support long-term medication adherence, thus reducing hospitalizations related to heart failure and quality of life.
Inclusion: confirmed diagnosis of heart failure (HF), either systolic or diastolic HF; ave suboptimal medication adherence; have a care partner (CP) (either spouse, daughter/son, partner, other relative, friend) who is identified by the patient as the person most involved in HF care; willingness to have a CP be involved in their medication taking; have undergone evaluation of HF and prescribed stable doses of HF medications for at least 3 months; live in a setting where the patient is responsible for their ow medication administration; willing to use the SimpleMed+ (i.e., an electronic pillbox to measure objective medication adherence); availability by phone; unpaid family member, friend, partner, or other relation who is involved in the patients' care at least 3 times a week, designated by the patient; willing to receive interventions with the patient together; 18 years of age or older.
Exclusion: currently or have received any similar self-care intervention recently in the past year; cognitive impairment as indicated by having difficulties to understand and give informed consent; co-existing end-stage renal disease or terminal illness such as advanced malignancy, or any other condition with less than 1-year life expectancy; psychotic illness; cognitive impairment as indicated by having difficulties to understand and give informed consent; coexisting terminal illness; a recent hospitalization within 3 months of study enrollment; current alcohol dependence or other substance abuse; inability to speak English or other communication barrier; non-English speaking or any other communication barrier.