Effectiveness of Digital Health Intervention in Enhancing Medication Adherence Among Arthritis Patients: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.

Background: Arthritis affects millions of people worldwide; however, its mismanagement remains a growing global challenge, resulting in reduced quality of life (QoL) and disability. Digital health (DH), including smartphones, could be the key to solving this problem. Specific evidence-based reviews on the use of DH in this context are lacking. This systematic review aimed to explore the effect of DH on medication adherence (MA) among arthritis patients, thus improving their QoL.

Methods: A literature search was conducted on PubMed, Cochrane, TRIP, and Google Scholar using the keywords digital health, medication adherence, and arthritis. All randomized controlled trials (RCT) published between 2006 and 2024 were assessed for eligibility.

Result: The literature search yielded 12,671 results with 882 duplicates. The review included 8 RCTs that addressed rheumatoid arthritis (n=5), gout (n=2), and juvenile idiopathic arthritis (n=1), with a total sample size of 2449 patients, among whom 66% were males. Digital interventions used include calls, texts, videos, and online counselling. Study outcomes were classified as positive (DH increased MA), no significant difference, and negative (DH failed to show an effect on MA) in 62.5%, 25%, and 12.5% of the studies, respectively.

Conclusion: It is concluded that 62.5% of the RCTs showed significant contributions of digital health tools in arthritis management, mainly by enhancing medication adherence and thus improving patients' QoL. Owing to their availability, simplicity, and immediacy, digital health tools demonstrate their potential as reliable interventions for supporting arthritis patients.