Unannounced telephone pill counts for assessing varenicline adherence in a pilot clinical trial

Figures & data

Table 1 Summary of costs for the telephone vs in-person pill counts

Cost variables	Telephone pill count	In-person pill count
Salary with fringe benefits	$13.05 per hour	$13.05 per hour
Time spent reaching participants for pill count	2 minutes	–
Time spent counting pills	8 minutes	8 minutes
Phone line	$0.03 per hour	–
Average participant mileage to clinic	–	10 miles
Mileage reimbursement	–	$0.55/mile
Total costs	$2.18 per pill count	$7.24 per pill count

Table 2A Baseline continuous demographic, psychosocial, and medication/treatment related characteristics of participants with discordant and concordant pill counts (N = 46)a

Characteristic	Discordant pill counts	Concordant pill counts	P
	(N = 7)	(N = 39)
Demographic
Age	48.7 (13.4)	47.9 (12.7)	ns
Psychosocial
Alcohol use (AUDIT-C; 0–12),b mean, (SD)	1.9 (1.6)	2.8 (2.7)	ns
Depression (CES-D-10; 0–30)c mean, (SD)	6.9 (6.7)	7.3 (5.4)	ns
God’s control over quitting (GLHC; 0–36), mean, (SD)	26.7 (10.8)	18.7 (9.3)	ns
Motivation to take medication (0–50), mean, (SD)	43.7 (10.4)	49.3 (1.3)	ns
Confidence to take medication (0–100), mean, (SD)	92.3 (12.1)	91.1 (9.5)	ns
Motivation to quit smoking (0–10), mean, (SD)	10.0 (0.0)	9.8 (0.1)	ns
Confidence to quit smoking (0–10), mean, (SD)	9.0 (1.9)	8.5 (1.8)	ns
Medication/treatment-related
Number of moderate to severe side effects, mean, (SD)	0.9 (0.9)	0.5 (0.9)	ns
Prior medication adherence (MAQ; 0–4),e mean, (SD)	1.0 (0.8)	2.8 (1.0)	0.0004
Month 1% adherence (per in-person pill counts), mean, (SD)	77 (0.18)	95 (0.09)	0.0005

Notes:

a All measures were taken at baseline, unless otherwise noted;

b Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test-Consumption;

c Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale;

d God Locus of Health Control;

e Medication Adherence Questionnaire (higher scores indicate non-compliance).

Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation; CES-D, Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale; GLHC, God Locus of Health Control; MAQ, Medication Adherence Questionnaire.

Table 2B Categorical demographic, psychosocial, and medication/treatment related characteristics of participants with discordant and concordant pill counts (N = 46)

Characteristic	Discordant pill counts	Concordant pill counts	P
	(N = 7)	(N = 39)
Demographic
Female, n (%)	6 (85.7%)	21 (53.9%)	ns
Married or living with partner, n (%)	3 (42.9%)	15 (38.5%)	ns
Monthly family income <$1,800, n (%)	5 (71.4%)	20 (57.1%)	ns
<High school education, n (%)	2 (28.6%)	6 (15.4%)	ns
Menthol cigarettes, n (%)	6 (85.7%)	31 (81.6%)	ns
Use of marijuana or other drugs, n (%)	1 (14.3%)	4 (10.3%)	ns
Psychosocial
Possible clinical depression, n (%)	2 (28.6%)	11 (28.2%)	ns
Treatment-related
Treatment group, adherence support, n (%)	6 (85.7%)	18 (46.2%)	ns