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The Influence of a Medication Adherence Smartphone Application on Medication Adherence in Chronic Illness

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Vanderbilt University

Status

Completed

Conditions

Self Efficacy
Medication Adherence

Treatments

Behavioral: Medisafe smartphone mobile application
Behavioral: Printed medication list

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

Details and patient eligibility

About

Medication adherence is a critical aspect of achieving optimal health outcomes. Thirty to 50% of patients adhere to long-term medication treatment of chronic diseases. Non adherence has been shown to result in worsening disease, increased healthcare expenditures, complications and even death. Medically underserved communities have higher rates of medication nonadherence and a higher prevalence of chronic conditions and often receive care at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which are reporting caring for increasingly complex chronic conditions. Smartphone mobile phone ownership has increased to 76% in low income Americans, but this population has been underrepresented in mobile health intervention studies. This two-group, cluster randomized by site, randomized controlled trial will investigate the effect of a medication adherence smartphone mobile application (app) which provides reminders on patient medication adherence, on medication self-efficacy, medication knowledge and medication social support. Independently, each of these concepts have been shown to support medication adherence. However in the context of delivery by a medication adherence app in a variety of chronic illnesses in a medically underserved population, little is known. It will also explore if those who accessed educational materials within the app report greater medication knowledge than those who do not and if participants who choose to use the additional Medfriend feature report greater medication social support than those who do not. The study will also explore patients' perceptions on the usefulness and satisfaction with the app features.

Full description

Medication adherence is a critical aspect of achieving optimal health outcomes. Thirty to 50% of patients adhere to long-term medication treatment of chronic diseases. Non adherence has been shown to result in worsening disease, increased healthcare expenditures, complications and even death. Medically underserved communities have higher rates of medication nonadherence and a higher prevalence of chronic conditions and often receive care at Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) which are reporting caring for increasingly complex chronic conditions. Smartphone mobile phone ownership has increased to 76% in low income Americans, but this population has been underrepresented in mobile health intervention studies. This two-group, cluster randomized by site, randomized controlled trial will investigate the effect of a medication adherence smartphone mobile application (app) which provides reminders on patient medication adherence, on medication self-efficacy, medication knowledge and medication social support. Independently, each of these concepts have been shown to support medication adherence. However in the context of delivery by a medication adherence app in a variety of chronic illnesses in a medically underserved population, little is known. It will also explore if those who accessed educational materials within the app report greater medication knowledge than those who do not and if participants who choose to use the additional Medfriend feature report greater medication social support than those who do not. The study will also explore patients' perceptions on the usefulness and satisfaction with the app features.

Enrollment

65 patients

Sex

All

Ages

18+ years old

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

  • adults aged 18 years and older
  • speak and understand English
  • personally own and use an Android or Apple smartphone and
  • take at least 1 medication for a chronic illness based on their computerized medical record at the health center.

Exclusion criteria

  • already using a medication reminder app or other electronic reminder system such as phone alarms
  • own smartphones that are not capable of downloading the app
  • patients with severe dementia or serious mental illness, and
  • inability to use a mobile phone or the medication reminder software either physically or cognitively.

Trial design

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Allocation

Randomized

Interventional model

Parallel Assignment

Masking

None (Open label)

65 participants in 2 patient groups

Participants using the medication adherence mobile application.
Experimental group
Description:
Participants in this arm will use the Medisafe app to receive medication reminders for thirty days.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Medisafe smartphone mobile application
Participants using a printed copy of their medication list.
Active Comparator group
Description:
Participants in this arm will use a printed out copy of their medication list for thirty days.
Treatment:
Behavioral: Printed medication list

Trial documents
2

Trial contacts and locations

2

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Data sourced from clinicaltrials.gov

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