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App Plus Incentive Promising for ADHD Medication Adherence
Use of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) focus app had a high adoption rate in adults with ADHD, though it had no effect on treatment adherence without an incentive, according to a randomized clinical trial published in European Psychiatry.
“The present results offer encouraging data for combining incentives with mobile digital health solutions to positively impact treatment adherence in ADHD,” authors noted.
Related: Women With ADHD Report Lack of Control, More Stress, Relationship Difficulty
The blind, parallel-group clinical trial randomized 73 adults with ADHD into 3 groups for 3 months:
1. Group 1: Pharmacological treatment as usual (TAU)
2. Group 2: TAU and the App (App Group)
3. Group 3: TAU and the App, plus a commercial discount on the purchase of medication prescribed for ADHD treatment (App + Discount Group)
Participants were recruited through a public call led by the ADHD outpatient program of the Federal University of Rio Grande, Brazil (PRODAH), between June 2021 and October 2022. Follow-ups were conducted at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after baseline. Researcher used the medication possession rate (MPR) to measure treatment adherence with a cutoff of 80% (mean MPR of <0.8) to indicate low adherence.
A total of 68 participants were included in the final analysis, with a mean age of 35 ± 7 years and 49.3% women. There was no significant difference in MPR between groups. However, the group that used the app and also received a discount on medication had greater medication intake registrations than the other groups, along with a 100% app adoption rate overall.
“These data, together with prior evidence showing that app use can increase treatment adherence, call for future pragmatic trials designed to evaluate the effectiveness of the current proposed [mobile digital health (mHealth)] solution in real-life routine practice conditions.
