How to investigate levels of Adherence to antiretroviral ... - INRUD

Chapter 5
Data collection tools and how to modify, print and fill them in
For each formulation of each medicine mentioned it is necessary to look at the stock cards
for the last 90 days and see how many of these days the drug has been in stock and mark
that in the appropriate column.
Any stock outs in the last 90 days
If the stock records are incomplete, it may be difficult or impossible to know the number of
days each medicine has been in or out of stock in the last 90 days. However, the pharmacist
may know if there have been any stock outs. Therefore if the number of days in the last 90
days is impossible to find for each medicine, ask the pharmacist or dispenser whether there
have been any stock outs in the last three months and answer Y/N.
The calculations will be done automatically when the data are entered into the spreadsheet.
Filling in the retrospective dispensing data
The data for filling in this form will normally have to be taken from pharmacy records. The
clinical records may have the number of days prescribed, but will usually not include actual
dispensing. However, if there are no coherent pharmacy records the prescribed data may
suffice. It is necessary to find the date and the number of days of ARVs dispensed. If the
patient is on more than one ARV and they are given for a different number of days, take the
one with the least number of days dispensed.
Filling in the forms
Take the Retrospective Dispensing Data form. Each page has space for 25 patients, one
patient to each row. To fill in information on 100 patients, 4 forms will be needed. The
retrospective data collection form can be seen in Appendix 2A.
On the written form, first, fill in the top of the form with the most important information:
The date of data collection.
Facility name and number.
The data collector’s name.
Each column of the form has a letter above it, and directions for each column will be given in
turn.
A B C D E
Seq. No. Patient identifier Age in years at index Gender Date initiation ARVs
visit
M/F
1
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