Economical Service for Medication Adherence (ESMA) pre-test study
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Pre-testing a brief face-to-face intervention, followed by a text messaging service or smart phone app to support adherence to medications prescribed for high blood pressure.
IRAS ID
252979
Contact name
Stephen Sutton
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Cambridge
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 6 months, 0 days
Research summary
Currently in England, 12 million people are diagnosed with high blood pressure. Taking medication as prescribed can significantly reduce risks, complications and early deaths associated with these conditions, however many people do not take their medication as prescribed. Non-adherence to medication reduces the effectiveness of patient treatment, and means that a substantial amount of medicines are wasted, costing the NHS several hundred million pounds a year.
Nurses in primary care can support patients to take their medication as prescribed but have limited time. Therefore, low-cost interventions that advise and support patients to take their tablets as prescribed are needed. One promising approach is to use digital interventions such as text messaging services or smartphone apps. Digital interventions could be used to support patients between their GP visits, and as reminders for patients to take their medication when prescribed.
Thus, this study will pre-test the acceptability of both a text messaging service and app which provides individualised support for medication adherence using patient participants aged 18 or above diagnosed with hypertension. All patients in this study will receive the intervention for 30 days, and are able to choose whether they would like it to be delivered via text messages or app notifications whilst continuing to take their prescribed medication. The researchers will also interview patients about their experiences using the intervention. Additionally, the intervention will ask questions requiring participant answers, which will be statistically analysed. Practitioners' experiences of using a brief face-to-face intervention will also be explored during interviews, and recommendations for the implementation of the intervention in primary care will be obtained from stakeholders consultations. All findings will help us to improve the intervention before the following feasibility trial for medication adherence.
REC name
London - West London & GTAC Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
18/LO/1959
Date of REC Opinion
1 Nov 2018
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion