The previously validated (indications: atrial fibrillation, human immunodeficiency virus, chronic inflammatory lung disease) Adherence Barriers Questionnaire (ABQ) was revised according to specifications of IVT, within the framework of an expert panel. A cross-sectional patient survey was conducted in combination with a retrospective medical chart review in order to validate the developed new instrument (ABQ-IVT).

A multi-center observational study was conducted addressing adult patients with asthma who were prescribed regular maintenance medication between 2014 and 2016 to identify the potential barriers to medication adherence among adult patients with asthma in Germany. Data were derived from physicians’ documentation and claims data, which were linked to the primary observational data and patient survey data (Adherence Barriers Questionnaire - ABQ).

The aim of this investigation was to develop and validate a respective questionnaire (Adherence Barriers Questionnaire for HIV: ABQ-HIV), based on an earlier version of the ABQ.

The study showed that the ABQ-HIV is a practical, reliable, and valid instrument for identifying patient-specific barriers to

adherence in the HIV treatment that is also useful in identifying HIV patient subgroups.

Medication non-adherence is a major challenge in the real-life treatment of chronically ill patients. To meet this challenge, adherence interventions with a tailored approach towards patient-specific adherence barriers identified with a reliable and practicable questionnaire are needed. This investigation aimed to develop and validate such a questionnaire, the “Adherence Barriers Questionnaire (ABQ)”.