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A Systematic Review on Pill and Medication Dispensers from a Human-Centered Perspective
Luigi Gargioni1, Daniela Fogli1, Pietro Baroni1
1Department of Information Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze 38, Brescia, 25123 Italy.
Journal of Healthcare Informatics Research
|April 29, 2024
Summary
Pill and medication dispensers can improve patient adherence to treatments. This systematic review analyzes current dispenser solutions, user interfaces, and management, offering insights for future development and healthcare professionals.
Area of Science:
- Health Informatics
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Medical Device Technology
Background:
- Medication adherence is a significant healthcare challenge impacting patient outcomes.
- Pill and medication dispensers are emerging as technological solutions to enhance adherence.
- User acceptance is crucial for the successful implementation of these dispensers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To systematically review existing pill and medication dispenser solutions.
- To analyze dispenser solutions from a human-centered perspective, focusing on user acceptance.
- To provide insights for future research and development in medication dispenser technology.
Main Methods:
- Systematic literature review following PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines.
- Searches conducted on Scopus and PubMed databases.
- Analysis of dispenser solutions based on development stage, hardware/software architecture, user interface characteristics, and user involvement.
Main Results:
- Overview and classification of current pill and medication dispenser solutions by development stage.
- Detailed analysis of hardware/software architectures for various dispenser types.
- Review of user interface designs and user roles in dispenser management.
Conclusions:
- Understanding dispenser technology, user interfaces, and management is key for effective implementation.
- Future research should focus on human-centered design to maximize user acceptance and adherence.
- Insights provided can guide healthcare professionals, researchers, and designers in developing and utilizing medication dispensers.
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