Patient Engagement and Medication Consistency with Adolescent Heart Transplant Recipients

This study explored the relationship between in-app messaging and patient time between doses of medication during mHealth video directly observed therapy (vDOT) intervention. The vDOT intervention sought to improve medication adherence among adolescent heart transplant recipients. The study utilized a 12-week vDOT pilot with ten adolescent patients, focusing on tacrolimus, a critical immunosuppressant medication. vDOT aimed to enhance patient engagement, provide interpersonal support, and ensure medication-taking consistency (inter-dose timeliness and intervals between doses). Results demonstrated the relationship between in-app communication and more consistent medication-taking behaviors, revealing that messages containing praise, rapport-building, and medically relevant information were positively associated with patients taking medication every 12 hours. The findings suggest that integrating direct observation and personal engagement via mHealth apps could be a promising strategy for managing medication adherence in pediatric transplant care.