Patient Engagement Interventions to Enhance Medication Safety in Long-Term Care: A Systematic Review

The aim of this systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of patient engagement interventions tested in randomized controlled trials (RCT) to enhance medication safety in long-term care. Searches for relevant studies were conducted in the databases Medline, CINAHL, and CENTRAL, and RCTs published between January 2011 and December 2021 that tested patient engagement interventions in long-term care, and measured medication safety. Eligibility and quality were determined independently by two researchers, and effects on medication safety were analysed descriptively. Out of 850 screened records, five studies reporting patient engagement interventions were included and classified as involvement (n = 3) and partnership/shared leadership (n = 2). The studies were heterogeneous regarding sample size, patient characteristics and outcome measures, and all had methodological quality limitations. The interventions were complex with multiple components. Three RCTs reported statistically significant effects of patient engagement interventions on medication safety, when compared to control arms. In conclusion, the limited body of evidence suggests that engaging patients in their own medication care may improve medication safety. Future research is needed to guide the practice field and stakeholders, and should include effect studies with a high degree of patient engagement. The research community should find consensus in medication safety outcome measurements.