Mobile Telephone Text Messaging for Medication Adherence in Chronic Disease

Adherence to long-term therapies in chronic disease is poor. Traditional interventions to improve adherence are complex and not widely effective. Mobile telephone text messaging may be a scalable means to support medication adherence.

To conduct a meta-analysis of randomized clinical trials to assess the effect of mobile telephone text messaging on medication adherence in chronic disease. DATA SOURCES: MEDLINE, EMBASE, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, PsycINFO, and CINAHL (from database inception to January 15, 2015), as well as reference lists of the articles identified. The data were analyzed in March 2015. STUDY SELECTION: Randomized clinical trials evaluating a mobile telephone text message intervention to promote medication adherence in adults with chronic disease. DATA EXTRACTION: Two authors independently extracted information on study characteristics, text message characteristics, and outcome measures as per the predefined protocol. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Odds ratios and pooled data were calculated using random-effects models. Risk of bias and study quality were assessed as per Cochrane guidelines. Disagreement was resolved by consensus.