Do telecommunication interventions support medication adherence to people with/at risk of CVD? Systematic review

Abstract

Background: Medication adherence is the best available option to prevent risks from CVDs and achieve favourable health outcomes. However, only half of the people with/at such risks do take their medications as prescribed. Telecommunication interventions using voice or text messages can provide tailored support to large number of people and in the long-term. This research aims to assess whether and how telecommunication interventions support people with/at risk of CVD to take their medications as prescribed. Methods: Systematic literature review of RCTs was conducted and a random effect model was used for the meta-analysis. Findings: Preliminary results showed the overall effect of the interventions on outcomes measured (n=16 studies, 9450 participants) to be z=0.59 (CI95% -0.18, 1.05), and not statistical significant. Analysis of BCTs and sensitivity analysis will be presented. Discussion: Telecommunication interventions are effective at supporting continuous engagement with medication adherence interventions (e.g. more than 6 months) to large number of people. However, there is a need to further explore the factors that support medication adherence using voice and text messages interventions.