Scoping review – What do we know about Aboriginal peoples’ use of dose administration aids?

ISSUE ADDRESSED: This paper aims to report findings of a scoping review which mapped and summarised available literature regarding Aboriginal peoples’ use of Dose Administration Aids (DAAs) for improved medication management. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have higher rates of chronic disease than other Australians. This leads to increased numbers of prescribed medications and complex medication taking regimens. The Australian Government and Pharmacy Bodies provide programs for Aboriginal peoples with chronic conditions, including programs supporting access to DAAs to improve medication adherence. METHODS: The search strings used included three key concepts: Indigeneity; DAAs and outcomes. PubMed, Medline via Ovid and the grey literature were searched. RESULTS: After removal of duplicates, 426 papers were screened by title and abstract for inclusion. A further 407 papers were then excluded leaving a total of nineteen papers included in the review. Only three of these papers included all three concepts in the search criteria, and none of these were empirical studies. CONCLUSION: The lack of studies found in this review support the requirement for empirical research regarding the effects of DAAs on medication taking behaviours of Aboriginal people, and the programs that provide them. SO WHAT? The Australian Government funds programs that provides access to DAAs as a method of improving medication taking behaviours. But what do we really know about DAAs and if or how they assist in this goal? This review scopes out what is known, in order to direct studies that will answer this question.