'Ama Cuore Bari' Odv and 'Amici di Cuore' of Bari are the winning projects of the 'Adhere to win' contest, the first competition dedicated to patient associations to collect and reward the most creative ideas to effectively communicate the importance of therapeutic adherence in cardiovascular diseases. The awards ceremony, during the 24th national Conacuore conference, which concluded in recent days in Modena, is part of the initiative, launched last October by the Servier Group in Italy and carried out with the patronage of the National Coordination of Associations of the heart (Conacuore) in collaboration with the Italian Heart Foundation (Fipc), in which 9 patient associations belonging to Conacuore participated.
'Adhering to win', “was not just a contest of ideas – states Giuseppe Ciancamerla, president of Conacuore – but a training course on the topic of therapeutic adherence with the aim of raising awareness and involving in a more incisive way the various associations that join Conacuore. The nominated projects were created by those who experience the problem of adherence to therapies first hand every day and for this reason they represent excellent ideas for creating more effective communication campaigns. We are also very honored to have awarded the winning associations as part of our national congress, publicly recognizing their commitment and their concrete contribution to this awareness project created by patients for patients”.
Poor adherence to therapies – we read in a note – is a problem that particularly concerns chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases. In Italy, according to Aifa's OsMed 2022 report, in the over 65s, patients with high and low adherence to antihypertensive treatment do not exceed 52.4% and 18.2%. In the population with altered cholesterol and/or triglyceride values in the blood, only 4 out of 10 patients are fully compliant with the therapy. For this to happen, it is essential that the patient is informed about his or her pathology and its possible consequences, that he or she is actively involved and motivated to follow medical indications. In this context, teamwork between clinicians, healthcare workers, pharmacists, patient associations, institutions and companies is fundamental. The patient associations that won the contest presented projects that met the evaluation criteria established by the technical jury. “Communication always has the objective” of modifying “the orientation and behavior of the recipient – comments Marco Ferrazzoli, representative of the technical jury – In the case of the invitation to adhere, the expected 'return' is particularly challenging, as it encounters personal resistance which can add up to social prejudices. Initiatives like this campaign are therefore useful for activating greater awareness and designing effective media tools.”
The importance of therapeutic adherence in cardiovascular disease cannot be underestimated. These diseases represent, in fact, the main cause of death in Italy, being responsible for almost 1 in 2 deaths. Every year the European Union spends over 280 billion euros on these pathologies. The cost for each Italian patient is estimated at around 700 euros. Despite this, out of 15 million Italians treated for hypertension and heart failure, less than half (47.6%) follow the doctor's instructions, but only partially thus compromising the effectiveness of the therapy.
“Adherence to therapies and correct lifestyles in cardio-cerebrovascular diseases is a multidimensional issue, which must be addressed in synergy by all the actors involved: patients, doctors, pharmacists, companies and institutions – underlines Emanuela Folco, president of FIPC – For this reason, as part of the activities of the Italian Alliance for cardio-cerebrovascular diseases, established at the general directorate of health prevention of the Ministry of Health, thanks to our coordination, a working group dedicated to therapeutic adherence is active , as a necessary tool to guarantee an effective treatment path for citizens suffering from cardio-cerebrovascular diseases. About thirty experts joined the working group, belonging to scientific societies and associations that are part of the Alliance, confirming the great interest in the topic of therapeutic adherence, both on a medical/clinical and social/economic profile.”
In a society where the aging of the population is the current and future trend, chronic diseases represent a real challenge both at an organizational and public cost level and adherence will play a truly central role, if managed 'online' by everyone the actors involved. “We are very proud to be partners of patient associations and scientific societies in projects that promote awareness of risk factors and the importance of therapeutic adherence, especially for chronic patients with cardiometabolic pathologies, often frail elderly people, with multiple pathologies and those treated with multiple treatments” – concludes Marie-Georges Besse, director of Medical Affairs of the Servier Group in Italy – Our company was one of the first to believe in the importance of educating on the strategic role of correct adherence to treatment, which for us also took on a dimension of corporate social responsibility. For 70 years we have been making available to patients and doctors a wide portfolio of medicines designed to simplify the administration of therapy, in favor of an increase in adherence and a consequent better effectiveness of the treatment”.
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