Table 2.

Studies of Memory Aids and Cues to Optimize Medication Adherence

Study	Design/Setting	Sample*	Intervention	Definition of Adherence	Results	Effect Size (Cohen's d)
Friedman et al (1996) [60] Friedman (1998) [61]	RCT/US	267 men and women with hypertension, mean age 76.0 yr (SD not reported) Intervention: n = 133 Control: n = 134	Telephone-linked computer system vs. Usual Care	≥ 80% of prescribed doses taken measured by pill count	At 6 mo, mean improvement in adherence was Intervention: 17.7% Control: 11.7% P = 0.03	0.26
Fulmer et al (1999) [59]	RCT/US	50 men and women, mean age 74.2 (6.8) yr Video telephone: n = 17 Telephone: n = 15 Control: n = 18	Daily video telephone call reminder for 6 wk vs. daily telephone call reminder for 6 wk vs. Usual Care	Percentage of prescribed doses taken measured by EEM	At 2 mo, mean adherence was Video telephone: 84% Telephone: 74% Control: 57%, F(2,34) = 4.08; P < 0.05	0.90
Jerant et al (2003) [62]	RCT/US	37 men and women with heart failure Telecare: n = 13, mean age 66.6 (10.9) yr Telephone: n = 12, mean age 71.3 (14.1) yr Control: n = 12, mean age 72.7 (11.4) yr	Interactive video-based home telecare by nurse vs. telephone calls by nurse vs. Usual Care	> 75% of prescribed doses taken measured by self-report	At 2 mo, proportion adherent was Telecare: 92% (12/13) Telephone: 91% (10/11) Control: 83% (10/12) P = 0.75	Telecare vs. Control 0.46 Telephone vs. Control 0.37
Lee et al (2006) [63]	Multiphase, prospective study with run- in phase of 2 mo, observational phase of 6 mo, and RCT of 6 mo/US	159 men and women with cardiovascular risk factors Intervention: n = 83, mean age 77 (10.5) yr Control: n = 76, mean age 78 (6.2)yr	Time-specific blister packs, medication education, and pharmacist follow-up vs. Usual Care	≥ 80% of prescribed doses taken measured by pill count	At 14 mo, proportion adherent was Intervention: 97.4% (75/77) Control: 21.7% (15/69) P < 0.001 At 14 mo, mean adherence was Intervention: 95.5 (SD = 7.7) Control: 69.1 (SD = 16.4) P < 0.001	2.72 2.10
Winland- Brown and Vallante (2000) [64]	RCT/US	61 men and women, mean age 87 yr (SD not reported) Voice-activated: n = 24 Medication box: n = 16 Control: n = 21	Voice-activated message and automatic dispenser vs. prefilled medication box vs. Usual Care	Adherence measured by pill count	After 6 mo, mean number of missed doses was Voice-activated: (1.7) Medication box: (15.1) Usual Care: (19.7) F (2,59) = 20.28; P < 0.001 Voice activated was better than Medication box (P < 0.01) and Usual Care (P < 0.01)	−1.83

EEM = electronic event monitoring; RCT = randomized controlled trial.

^*Number in parentheses is standard deviation.