title: Demographic and health related data of users of a mobile application to support drug adherence is associated with usage duration and intensity.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  A wealth of mobile applications are designed to support users in their drug intake. When developing software for patients, it is important to understand the differences between individuals who have, who will or who might never adopt mobile interventions. This study analyzes demographic and health-related factors associated with real-life "longer usage" and the "usage-intensity per day" of the mobile application "Medication Plan".
  
  
  METHODS
  Between 2010-2012, the mobile application "Medication Plan" could be downloaded free of charge from the Apple-App-Store. It was aimed at supporting the regular and correct intake of medication. Demographic and health-related data were collected via an online questionnaire. This study analyzed captured data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  App-related activities of 1799 users (1708 complete data sets) were recorded. 69% (1183/1708) applied "Medication Plan" for more than a day. 74% were male (872/1183), the median age 45 years. Variance analysis showed a significant effect of the users' age with respect to duration of usage (p = 0.025). While the mean duration of use was only 23.3 days for users younger than 21 years, for older users, there was a substantial increase over all age cohorts up to users of 60 years and above (103.9 days). Sex and educational status had no effect. "Daily usage intensity" was directly associated with an increasing number of prescribed medications and increased from an average of 1.87 uses per day and 1 drug per day to on average 3.71 uses per day for users stating to be taking more than 7 different drugs a day (p<0.001). Demographic predictors (sex, age and educational attainment) did not affect usage intensity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Users aged 60+ as well as those with complicated therapeutic drug regimens relied on the service we provided for more than three months on average. Mobile applications may be a promising approach to support the treatment of patients with chronic conditions.
authors: Department of Nephrology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany; Institute for Drug Safety, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors: Stefan
authors: S
authors: Becker
authors: Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics of RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors: Christopher
authors: C
authors: Brandl
authors: Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering, Dortmund, Germany.
authors: Sven
authors: S
authors: Meister
authors: Institute for Drug Safety, University Hospital Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors: Eckhard
authors: E
authors: Nagel
authors: Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, New York City, New York, United States of America; Marketing Department, Business School, Ono Academic College, Kiryat Ono, Israel.
authors: Talya
authors: T
authors: Miron-Shatz
authors: Department of Nephrology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors: Anna
authors: A
authors: Mitchell
authors: Department of Nephrology, University Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Kribben
authors: Peter L. Reichertz Institute for Medical Informatics (OE8420), University of Braunschweig-Institute of Technology and Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany.
authors: Urs-Vito
authors: UV
authors: Albrecht
authors: Institute of Industrial Engineering and Ergonomics of RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.
authors: Alexander
authors: A
authors: Mertens
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D008875:Middle Aged; D063731:Mobile Applications / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D055815:Young Adult
references: Curr Med Res Opin. 2009 Jan;25(1):215-38
references: 19210154
references: Gerontology. 2013;59(6):564-70
references: 23969758
references: Int J Antimicrob Agents. 2007 Mar;29(3):245-53
references: 17229552
references: Biomed Eng Online. 2011;10:24
references: 21466669
references: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2011 Jan-Feb;18(1):51-9
references: 21131605
references: J Gerontol Nurs. 2013 Jan;39(1):42-51
references: 23244061
references: Yearb Med Inform. 2014;9:21-6
references: 25123717
references: J Med Syst. 2006 Aug;30(4):241-9
references: 16978003
references: PLoS Med. 2013;10(2):e1001382
references: 23424286
references: J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2011 May 1;18(3):318-21
references: 21262921
references: PLoS Med. 2013;10(1):e1001363
references: 23458994
references: N Engl J Med. 2005 Aug 4;353(5):487-97
references: 16079372
references: PLoS One. 2013;8(10):e78547
references: 24194946
references: Lancet. 2010 Nov 27;376(9755):1838-45
references: 21071074
references: BMC Nephrol. 2014;15:7
references: 24405907
references: Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 1998 May;54(3):197-202
references: 9681659
references: Eur J Cardiovasc Nurs. 2003 Dec;2(4):323
references: 14667488
references: BMJ. 2008 May 17;336(7653):1114-7
references: 18480115
references: Pharmacotherapy. 2006 Apr;26(4):483-92
references: 16553506
references: JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2014 Mar 14;2(1):e11
references: 25099993
references: Am J Med. 2007 Jan;120(1):26-32
references: 17208076
references: Clin J Am Soc Nephrol. 2012 Oct;7(10):1553-60
references: 22798537
references: JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2014 May 16;2(2):e24
references: 25099752
references: J Med Internet Res. 2014;16(8):e184
references: 25100579
references: Am J Kidney Dis. 2013 Apr;61(4):644-6
references: 23157933
references: PLoS Med. 2013;10(1):e1001362
references: 23349621