Cost-effectiveness of a RE-AIM-Informed Autonomy-Competence Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence and Quality of Life Among Patients With Heart Failure

May 6, 2026 updated by: Arshed Muhammad, Universiti Putra Malaysia

Cost-effectiveness of a RE-AIM-Informed Autonomy-Competence Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence, Health-related Quality of Life, and Implementation Outcomes Among Patients With Heart Failure: a Hybrid Effectiveness-implementation Randomized Controlled Trial

Medication non-adherence leads to recurrent admissions, worsening symptoms, poor quality of life, and increased healthcare costs in an already overburdened health system. Existing adherence interventions in Pakistan are limited, mostly educational, and rarely guided by behavioural theory, implementation science, or economic evaluation.

Therefore, a culturally appropriate, RE-AIM-informed autonomy-competence intervention is needed to improve medication adherence and quality of life among heart failure patients in Pakistan, while also assessing implementation feasibility and cost-effectiveness for future scale-up.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

This study will employ a type 1 hybrid effectiveness-implementation randomized controlled trial to evaluate the clinical effectiveness, implementation outcomes, and cost-effectiveness of a RE-AIM-informed autonomy-competence intervention designed to improve medication adherence and quality of life among patients with heart failure. A parallel two-arm superiority trial design with a 1:1 allocation ratio will be used, in which participants will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the usual care group. The trial is theoretically grounded in the Self-Determination Theory, particularly the constructs of autonomy support and competence enhancement, while implementation evaluation will be guided by the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

870

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • Pakistan
      • Karachi, Pakistan, 74600
        • Civil Hospital Karachi, Dr. Ruth K. M. Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age ≥18 years

    • Diagnosed heart failure for at least 6 months
    • Prescribed ≥2 heart failure medications
    • Documented medication non-adherence
    • Able to provide informed consent
    • Access to a smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Severe psychiatric illness
  • Terminal illness
  • Severe cognitive impairment
  • End-stage renal disease
  • Participation in another intervention trial

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Double

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention arm
Participants in the intervention arm will receive a digital RE-AIM-informed autonomy-competence intervention over four months. The intervention will aim to improve medication adherence by enhancing patients' autonomy, motivation, self-management confidence, and treatment competence.
Behavioral: RE-AIM-informed autonomy-competence intervention
Participants in the intervention arm will receive a digital RE-AIM-informed autonomy-competence intervention over four months. The intervention will aim to improve medication adherence by enhancing patients' autonomy, motivation, self-management confidence, and treatment competence. It will include individualized medication planning, shared decision-making, motivational counselling, adherence goal setting, structured medication education, pill-management support, symptom-monitoring guidance, problem-solving for adherence barriers, WhatsApp reminders, monthly telephonic follow-up, and reinforcement counselling. Family involvement will be encouraged where appropriate. Intervention fidelity will be monitored using delivery checklists, supervision, and periodic review.
No Intervention: Control arm
Participants in the control group will receive standard routine cardiology care, including physician consultation, medication prescription, and usual counselling, without additional digital adherence support

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Medication adherence (self-efficacy) in heart failure patients
Time Frame: 3 months
The first primary outcome will be medication adherence (self-efficacy) in heart failure patients, measured using the Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale Urdu version (SEAMS-U) and pill count adherence assessment. The Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale (SEAMS) is a 13-item tool measuring patient confidence in medication adherence. It typically uses a 3-point Likert scale (1=not confident, 2=fairly confident, 3=extremely confident). Scores range from 13 to 39, with higher scores indicating higher self-efficacy.
3 months
Medication adherence (objective adherence rate)
Time Frame: 3 months
The second primary outcome is medication adherence (objective adherence rate), will also be assessed using pill count methodology. Adherence rate will be calculated as the proportion of pills taken divided by the number of pills prescribed over the previous 30 days, expressed as a percentage. An adherence rate ≥80% will be considered adequate adherence.
3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Heart Failure (HF)-specific Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL)
Time Frame: 3 months
The Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ) will be used. It consists of 21 items, each scored on a 6-point Likert scale ranging from 0 to 5, where 0 indicates no impact, and 5 indicates a very severe impact of heart failure on the patient's life. The total score ranges from 0 to 105, with higher scores indicating poorer health-related quality of life. The questionnaire also includes two major subscales: the physical dimension (8 items; score range 0-40) and the emotional dimension (5 items; score range 0-25), with higher scores indicating poorer HRQoL.
3 months
Implementation outcomes (RE-AIM domains)
Time Frame: 3 months

Measured under the RE-AIM framework:

Reach (% participants enrolled) Effectiveness (clinical + adherence outcomes) Adoption (provider uptake) Implementation (fidelity, dose, acceptability, feasibility)

Validated tools:

Acceptability of Intervention Measure (AIM) Feasibility of Intervention Measure (FIM) Intervention Appropriateness Measure (IAM). Higher scores indicate better measures
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Universiti Putra Malaysia

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

May 15, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

August 24, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

September 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

April 28, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

May 12, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

May 12, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 6, 2026

Last Verified

May 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • BMUUU

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

The study protocol, statistical plan, and results will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed Journals.

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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