Adherence to treatment in allergic rhinitis using mobile technology. The MASK Study

Area of Science:

• Digital health
• Allergic rhinitis research
• Pharmacovigilance

Background:

• Mobile technology offers new ways to monitor treatment adherence.
• The MASK-rhinitis (Mobile Airways Sentinel NetworK for allergic rhinitis) system utilizes a patient-centered ICT approach.
• The Allergy Diary mobile app is a core component of MASK, available in 22 countries.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate treatment adherence in allergic rhinitis patients using the Allergy Diary app.
• To assess medication-taking behavior in a real-world setting.

Main Methods:

• An observational, cross-sectional study was conducted.
• Data from Allergy Diary app users between January 2016 and August 2017 were analyzed.
• Secondary adherence was measured using the modified Medication Possession Ratio (MPR) and Proportion of Days Covered (PDC).

Main Results:

• Out of 1,195 analyzed subjects, only 11.28% were adherent (MPR ≥70% and PDC ≤1.25).
• A significant portion (69.05%) of users were non-adherent to their medications (MPR <70%).
• 14.60% were identified as switchers, and 4.23% were partly adherent.

Conclusions:

• Treatment adherence among allergic rhinitis patients is notably low.
• The Allergy Diary app provides a viable method for retrospective adherence measurement.
• This study highlights a novel approach for analyzing real-world medication-taking behavior.