A Spanish Pillbox App for Elderly Patients Taking Multiple Medications

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

Get a concise snapshot of the trial, including recruitment status, study phase, enrollment targets, and key timeline milestones.

Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

99 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2012-06-30

Study Completion Date

2013-05-31

Brief Summary

Review the sponsor-provided synopsis that highlights what the study is about and why it is being conducted.

Background: Non-adherence and medication errors are common among patients with complex drug regimens. Applications for smartphones and tablets are known to be effective for improving adherence but they have not been tested in elderly patients with such complex chronic conditions, their older age meaning they tend to have less experience with this type of technology.

Objective: to design, implement and evaluate a medication self-management application for elderly patients taking multiple medications called ALICE with the intention of improving adherence and safe medication use.

Methods: A single-blind randomized controlled trial was conducted with a control and an experimental group (N=99) in Spain in 2013. The characteristics of ALICE were specified based on the suggestions of 3 nominal groups with a total of 23 patients and a focus group with 7 professionals. ALICE was designed for Android and iOS and to allow the personalisation of prescriptions and medical advice, showing images of each of the medications (the packaging and the medication itself) together with alerts and multiple reminders for each alert. The randomly subjects in the control group received oral and written information on the safe use of their medications and the experimental group used ALICE for three months. Pre- and post- measures included: rate of missed doses and medication errors reported by patients, Morisky Medication Adherence 4 items Scale scores, level of independence, self-perceived health status and biochemical test results of the patients. In the experimental group, data were also collected on their previous experience with information and communication technologies, their rating of ALICE and their perception of the level of independence they had achieved. The inter-group intervention effects were calculated by univariate linear models and ANOVA, with the pre- to post-intervention differences as the dependent variables.

Related Clinical Trials

Explore similar clinical trials based on study characteristics and research focus.

Impact of an Artificial Intelligence Platform on Inappropriate Medication Use in Older Adults

NCT04710615

Drug-drug Interactions Geriatric Disease

RECRUITING NA

Efficacy of a Intervention to Reduce Medication Errors and Improve Adherence

NCT01291966

Medication Adherence Patient Compliance

COMPLETED NA

Reduction of Polypharmacy in Elderly People With Multiple Diseases

NCT05526963

Polypharmacy Multimorbidity

RECRUITING NA

Inappropriate Prescription in Elderly and Polypharmacy Patients in Primary Care (PHARM-PC) Trial

NCT02224833

Elderly (People Aged 65 or More) Polypharmacy (People Under Treatment With 5 or More Drugs)

COMPLETED NA

Safe Use of Medication at Home by Caregivers. Experimental Study

NCT05247801

Caregivers of Multi-pathological and Polypharmacy Adults

COMPLETED NA

Detailed Description

Dive into the extended narrative that explains the scientific background, objectives, and procedures in greater depth.

A tablet-based medication self-management app (called ALICE) was designed to help patients to remember to take all their medications, at the correct doses, distinguish between drugs to avoid confusions, avoid known potential interactions and common errors in use of the medications and know how to properly store the medications. The app design was based on suggestions extracted from 3 nominal groups with a total of 23 patients and a focus group with 7 professionals (3 physicians and 4 pharmacists).

The tablet used was selected on the basis of the need for a device with an at least 7-inch, easy to use touch screen, ensuring that users would only have to follow simple instructions and tap on some icons on the screen. Specifically, the BQ Verne Plus 3G with an LCD Tactile screen was chosen in the case of Android, and an iPad 2 with Wi-Fi + 3G in the case of the iOS.

This study has been approved and financed by the Spanish Ministry of Health, Equality, and Social Policy. The Spanish Research Health Agency (FIS), Independent Clinical Research, project number EC11-527. The Experimental Research Ethics Committee of Miguel Hernández University (DPS-JJM-003-11) approved the trial.

Conditions

See the medical conditions and disease areas that this research is targeting or investigating.

Diabetes Hypertension

Study Design

Understand how the trial is structured, including allocation methods, masking strategies, primary purpose, and other design elements.

Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

SINGLE

Investigators

Study Groups

Review each arm or cohort in the study, along with the interventions and objectives associated with them.

Pillbox app named ALICE

pillbox app for elderly patients taking multiple medications. App was used during three months

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Pillbox app named ALICE

Intervention Type DEVICE

Participants in the experimental group were given a BQ tablet or an iPad with the ALICE app installed and personalised according to the medications they had been prescribed as listed in their medical record

oral and written information

oral and written information regarding the main risks related to their medications and the most common errors of patients

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

oral and written information

Intervention Type OTHER

oral and written information about the most common errors of patients

Interventions

Learn about the drugs, procedures, or behavioral strategies being tested and how they are applied within this trial.

Pillbox app named ALICE

Participants in the experimental group were given a BQ tablet or an iPad with the ALICE app installed and personalised according to the medications they had been prescribed as listed in their medical record

Intervention Type DEVICE

oral and written information

oral and written information about the most common errors of patients

Intervention Type OTHER

Other Intervention Names

Discover alternative or legacy names that may be used to describe the listed interventions across different sources.

information regarding common errors of patients

Eligibility Criteria

Check the participation requirements, including inclusion and exclusion rules, age limits, and whether healthy volunteers are accepted.

Inclusion Criteria

* Multimorbid patients taking multiple medications
* Over 65 years old, with a Barthel score of more than 60
* Living in their own home
* Able to manage the administration of their medication at home