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Review
. 2022 Dec 30:16:3441-3463.
doi: 10.2147/PPA.S388106. eCollection 2022.

Telemedicine as a Tool to Improve Medicine Adherence in Patients with Affective Disorders - A Systematic Literature Review

Maren Leiz #  1 , Nils Pfeuffer #  1 , Laura Rehner  2 , Ulrike Stentzel  1 , Neeltje van den Berg  1
Affiliations
Review

Telemedicine as a Tool to Improve Medicine Adherence in Patients with Affective Disorders - A Systematic Literature Review

Maren Leiz et al. Patient Prefer Adherence. .

Abstract

Affective disorders are a common psychological impairment. A major problem with respect to treatment is medication non-adherence. eHealth interventions are already widely used in the treatment of patients living with affective disorders. The aim of this systematic literature review is to obtain the current scientific evidence to eHealth as a tool to improve medication adherence in patients with affective disorders. A systematic search was performed across PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science and PsycInfo. Studies in English and German published between 2007 and 2020 were included. The review followed the PRISMA guidelines and were performed with the CADIMA online tool. A total of 17 articles were included in this review. Eleven studies were randomized controlled trials, two were controlled clinical trials, and four had a pre-/post-design. Three different types of interventions could be identified: internet-based self-management programs (n=4), multi-faceted interventions addressing different dimensions of medication adherence (n=4), and single-faceted interventions (n=9) comprising four mobile interventions and five telehealth interventions. Eleven interventions addressed patients with (comorbid) depressions and six addressed patients with bipolar disorders. Six interventions showed a statistically significant positive effect on medication adherence. None of the studies showed a statistically significant negative effect. All interventions which had a statistically significant positive effect on medication adherence involved personal contacts between therapists and patients. All included eHealth interventions are at least as effective as control conditions and seems to be effective for patients with depression as well as with bipolar disorders. Personal contacts seem to improve the effectiveness of eHealth interventions. eHealth interventions are an effective way to improve medication adherence in patients with affective disorders. In rural or underserved regions, eHealth can supplement usual care interventions on medication adherence by expanding access. More analyses are needed in order to understand determinants for the effectiveness of eHealth interventions on medication adherence enhancement.

Keywords: affective disorder; compliance; eHealth; medication adherence; medication nonadherence; noncompliance.

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Conflict of interest statement

Maren Leiz and Nils Pfeuffer are co-first authors for this study. The authors declare no conflicts of interest in this work.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA 2020 flow diagram (A “study” includes a defined group of participants and one or more interventions and outcomes and might have multiple “reports”, that can be any document providing information).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Effects on medication adherence reported in the included studies in relation to different types of intervention (n=17).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Effects on medication adherence reported by the included studies subdivided by interventions with and without personal contact including (n=17).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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