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Enhancing Medication Adherence Through Behavioral Nudging: Potentials of a Smartphone App-Based Approach
Andi Ademi1, Andy Landolt1, Murat Sariyar1
1Bern University of Applied Sciences, Switzerland.
Studies in Health Technology and Informatics
|October 3, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a smartphone app using behavioral nudges to improve medication adherence. Default schedules and visual feedback significantly boosted patient adherence, showing promise for better health outcomes.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Behavioral Economics
- Human-Computer Interaction
Background:
- Poor medication adherence is a significant healthcare challenge, leading to suboptimal treatment outcomes and increased costs.
- Traditional interventions like reminders and education have yielded limited success in improving patient adherence.
- Behavioral economics offers 'nudges' as a promising strategy to influence patient behavior effectively.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design, develop, and evaluate a smartphone application utilizing nudging techniques to enhance medication adherence.
- To integrate behavioral design principles and human-centered development into a user-friendly mobile health tool.
- To explore the impact of interactive features and personalized nudges on patient adherence behaviors.
Main Methods:
- Co-designing the app structure with healthcare stakeholders, informed by literature and market analysis.
- Implementing a smartphone application with features like context-aware reminders, a social avatar, symptom tracking, and customizable scheduling.
- Conducting a two-phase usability study with 16 participants to assess the app's influence on adherence.
Main Results:
- Default scheduling options and visual feedback mechanisms significantly influenced medication adherence behaviors.
- Personalized reminders and the social avatar (Adii) enhanced user emotional engagement and trust.
- Ease of onboarding and offline functionality were identified as key factors for user trust and adoption.
Conclusions:
- The prototype smartphone application demonstrates significant potential for improving long-term medication adherence through behavioral nudging.
- Interactive features and user-centered design elements contribute to enhanced engagement and adherence.
- Future development will focus on AI-driven adaptive nudging to further personalize and optimize adherence support.
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