Table 2.
Clinical and Demographic Details of Study Participants
| Intervention n = 57 | Usual care n = 59 | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age (mean ± SD) | 58.1 ± 10.0 | 58.9 ± 10.7 | 0.660* | |
| Male sex | 39 (68.4%) | 37 (62.7%) | 0.518 | |
| Medication management † | Self‐managed | 34 (59.6%) | 44 (77.2%) | 0.144 ‡ |
| Professional caregiver, professionally packed dosage administration aid | 9 (15.8%) | 4 (7.0%) | ||
| Partner, family, or other caregiver helps | 14 (24.6%) | 9 (15.8%) | ||
| Current alcohol consumption | 10 (17.5%) | 13 (22.0%) | 0.544 | |
| Etiology | Alcoholic liver disease | 22 (38.6%) | 34 (57.6%) | 0.165 ‡ |
| Hepatitis C | 21 (36.8%) | 17 (28.8%) | ||
| Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease | 8 (14.0%) | 6 (10.2%) | ||
| Other | 6 (10.5%) | 2 (3.4%) | ||
| MELD § (median [IQR]) | 14.5 (10.5‐18.0) | 12.5 (10.0‐16.0) | 0.157 || | |
| Child‐Pugh § | Score (median [IQR]) | 8.0 (7.0‐9.0) | 7.5 (6.0‐9.0) | 0.070 || |
| A | 8 (14.3%) | 18 (31.0%) | 0.089 | |
| B | 36 (64.3%) | 32 (55.2%) | ||
| C | 12 (21.4%) | 8 (13.8%) | ||
| Ascites at t0 (including suppressed by diuretics) | 45 (78.9%) | 46 (78.0%) | 0.898 | |
| Encephalopathy at t0 (including suppressed by medication) | 23 (40.0%) | 17 (28.8%) | 0.191 | |
| Variceal bleeding (in the preceding 2 years) | 7 (12.3%) | 11 (17.2%) | 0.449 | |
| Hepatocellular carcinoma | 4 (7.0%) | 11 (18.6%) | 0.095 ‡ | |
| Number of medications (median [IQR]) † | Total | 10.0 (6.5‐12.0) | 8.0 (6.0‐9.5) | 0.006 || |
| CLD | 3.0 (2.0‐4.0) | 2.0 (1.0‐3.0) | 0.014 || | |
| Non‐CLD | 7.0 (4.0‐9.0) | 6.0 (3.5‐7.0) | 0.061 || | |
| Charlson Comorbidity Index (median [IQR]) | 4.0 (3.0‐5.0) | 4.0 (3.0‐9.0) | 0.688 || | |
| Highest level of education ¶ | Nil, primary, middle school | 26 (53.1%) | 18 (32.7%) | 0.036 |
| Completed high school and/or additional education | 23 (46.9%) | 37 (67.3%) | ||
| Employment status # | Employed | 11 (21.6%) | 8 (14.3%) | 0.325 |
| Government welfare | 37 (72.5%) | 45 (80.4%) | 0.340 | |
| No active income | 4 (7.8%) | 4 (7.1%) | 1.000 ‡ | |
| ARIA | Living in “highly accessible” areas | 53 (93.0%) | 49 (83.1%) | 0.153 ‡ |
| Living in “accessible” to “remote” areas | 4 (7.0%) | 10 (16.9%) | ||
| IRSD | Living in “most disadvantaged” areas | 18 (31.6%) | 20 (33.9%) | 0.790 |
| Living in areas of “low” to “moderate” disadvantage | 39 (68.4%) | 39 (66.1%) |
Data presented are counts (proportions) and differences between groups as assessed using Pearson’s chi‐squared test unless otherwise denoted.
*Independent samples t test;
†excluding 2 usual care patients who did not disclose their medications at recruitment. Professionally packaged dose administration aids included Webster‐Pak and multidose medication sachet systems;
‡Fisher’s exact test;
§excluding 1 intervention patient and 1 usual care patient with no pathology for >6 months due to nonadherence;
||Mann‐Whitney U test;
¶excluding 4 usual care and 8 intervention patients who did not report this information. “Additional education” included a trade qualification, certificate, diploma, or university degree;
#excluding 3 usual care and 6 intervention patients who did not report this information. Two patients reported concurrent part‐time employment and government welfare support and are represented twice. “Employed” includes full‐time, part‐time, casual, and self‐employment. “Government welfare” includes disability support, aged pension, caregiver’s pension, total permanent disability, and Newstart allowance.
Abbreviations: ARIA, Accessibility/Remoteness Index of Australia; IRSD, Index for Relative Socioeconomic Disadvantage.