App for pill reminder trial#

There has also been relatively little research that examines which characteristics and features make health apps more effective. This plethora of health apps has triggered a growing interest in mHealth research however, the majority of research has focused on designing and testing new mHealth interventions instead of testing what is already available to the general public. The increasing popularity of apps is evident as there has been exponential growth in numbers of apps available in online stores. More recently, the use of smartphone apps has been proposed as a potential tool to improve adherence. 16 Although cost-effectiveness analyses of mHealth interventions are limited, a text messaging intervention in a population with CHD has been shown to be cost-saving. A meta-analysis of text messaging interventions to improve adherence to medication in chronic diseases showed that text message reminders were associated with increased odds of being adherent. MHealth interventions can also be used to improve medication adherence by sending regular reminders to the patients aiming to reduce forgetfulness, a known non-intentional reason for non-adherence. 12 Systematic reviews have shown that interventions delivered by mobile phone text messages can improve appointment attendance, 13 preventive care 14 and smoking cessation. mHealth interventions can be used to deliver education to patients and health professionals, to collect data, to diagnose, screen and monitor patients, to offer treatment and behavioural change support, as well as to facilitate communication between patients, health professionals and health services. 11 This growing mobile phone ownership makes it a promising tool to deliver healthcare interventions, so-called mHealth interventions. 10 In Australia, 86% of the household access the internet via mobile or smartphones. 10 In addition, mobile subscriptions with internet access were expected to reach 2.3 billion in 2014. In 2014, there were around 7 billion mobile phone subscriptions globally. 9 When compared with simple one-component interventions, such as a text message intervention, the complex interventions were found to have similar results. Recently, a meta-analysis of randomised controlled trials (RCTs) investigating interventions to improve adherence to multiple cardiovascular medication in a CHD population found that interventions significantly improved the odds of being adherent however, the interventions varied widely, and the majority of the interventions were complex, comprising several components. Given this suboptimal adherence to cardiovascular medication, a growing body of research has been investigating different interventions to improve medication adherence. 7 In Australia, it is estimated that 14%–43% of the patients do not adhere to their cardiovascular medication after 12–24 months. 2 However, non-adherence to long-term therapies is a global concern especially in chronic diseases, 3 4 such as CVDs, 5 6 as highlighted by the WHO report in 2003. 1 After an acute coronary event, about half of patients have recurrent events, which can be reduced by adhering to a healthy lifestyle and to evidence-based cardiovascular medication. A process evaluation will also be performed to assess the feasibility of the intervention by evaluating the acceptability, utility and engagement with the apps.Ĭardiovascular disease (CVD) and medication adherenceĬoronary heart disease (CHD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, accounting for more than eight million deaths in 2015. Secondary outcomes include clinical measurements of blood pressure and cholesterol levels, and medication knowledge. The primary outcome is medication adherence measured by the eight-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale at 3 months. The advanced medication reminder app group will have access to a medication reminder app with additional interactive and customisable features. The basic medication reminder app group will have access to a medication reminder app with a basic feature of providing simple daily reminders with no interactivity. The usual care group will receive standard care for CHD with no access to a medication reminder app. An estimated sample size of 156 patients with CHD will be randomised to one of three groups (usual care group, basic medication reminder app group and advanced medication reminder app group).

App for pill reminder trial#

Randomised controlled trial with follow-up at 3 months to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of medication reminder apps on medication adherence compared with usual care.