Risk of bias tools for medication adherence research (RoBIAS & RoBOAS)

Ensuring quality evidence in medication adherence research requires that important biases are identified and mitigated. The Risk of Bias tool for Interventional Adherence Studies (RoBIAS) and the Risk of Bias tool for Observational Adherence Studies (RoBOAS) have been developed to help researchers assess key biases in adherence research related to study design, adherence measurement, and data analysis (available here). Developed through expert consensus and piloting, these tools are intended to have utility when systematically reviewing adherence research and will inform the design of future adherence studies.

A framework for understanding sources of bias in medication adherence research, used as the basis for the development of the tools, was reported in 2023 (link).

The authors consider the RoBIAS and RoBOAS tools to be living documents. We are dedicated to continual quality improvement to ensure that the tools are useful for those conducting adherence research. We ask that all users planning to use the tools in a systematic review context to please contact authors Klarissa Sinnappah (klarissasinnappah@outlook.com) or Daniel Wright (dan.wright@sydney.edu.au) so that we can advise about optimal use and receive feedback on user experience.