Cell Phone Support to Promote Medication Adherence Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Chronic Illness

Background: Adolescents and young adults (AYAs) with chronic illnesses often struggle to develop illness self-management skills. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions have been developed for some specific chronic illnesses, but flexible interventions that can be generalized across conditions are needed to accelerate translation. Research Hypotheses: 1) Cell phone support (CPS) will increase medication adherence and self-management skills across a variety of health conditions; 2) CPS delivered by text message will outperform CPS delivered by phone calls; 3) Patients' perceptions of the human adherence facilitator (AF) will differ based on the mode of communication, text message versus phone calls. Design: A randomized, controlled, 3-arm pilot trial, following community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles, will test the impact of AF delivered by phone calls or text messages on medication adherence and illness self-management. Conditions will be CPS delivered by phone calls, CPS delivered by text messages, or usual care. Participants: Participants will include AYAs with diverse chronic illnesses aged 15-20 years (N = 60). Methods: This study will involve piloting CPS via different communication modes in a randomized trial, informed by CBPR principles. Questionnaires and focus groups will be used to understand how patients perceive the intervention and adherence facilitator. Main Outcome Measures: Outcomes will include medication and appointment adherence, pharmacy refill ratios, self-management skills, and perceptions of the AF. Innovation: This study will provide new knowledge regarding how to promote illness self-management skills, and may result in an mHealth intervention with the potential to widely impact supportive care for AYAs with chronic illnesses.