Chandran Nimmy, Beniwal Ram Pratap, Sahu Anamika, Hawk Mary, Rajanbabu Aparna, Deshpande Smita
Dept. of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Palakkad, Kerala, India.
Dept. of Psychiatry & Drug De-addiction, Center of Excellence in Mental Health & Dr. R.M.L. Hospital, New Delhi, India.
Indian J Psychol Med. 2025 Aug 15:02537176251361710. doi: 10.1177/02537176251361710.
Multiple challenges, including limited technical knowledge, privacy concerns, or financial constraints to afford a smartphone, limit the introduction and implementation of a mobile application-based intervention aimed at supporting medication adherence for people with schizophrenia (SZ) in a low-resource setting. Recognising these barriers, this study aimed to explore the perceived acceptability of a mobile application specifically designed to improve medication adherence among individuals with SZ and their caregivers (CG).
A total of 64 individuals diagnosed with SZ, who had been in remission for the past six months, and 36 CG, attending the outpatient psychiatry department of a tertiary care teaching institution, were recruited based on predefined selection criteria. The SZ and CG participants were interviewed separately using an adapted version of the Treatment Acceptability and Preference Scale (TAPS), which assessed their perceptions of the appropriateness, suitability, effectiveness, and willingness to use a mobile application. TAPS was administered immediately after describing the proposed features and potential utility of the mobile application designed to improve medication adherence.
There were no significant differences in demographic characteristics between SZ and CG, except that CG were significantly more likely to be employed than individuals with SZ ( = .02). Comparison of TAPS scores between the two groups revealed no significant difference in perceptions regarding the acceptability of the mobile application. However, a greater proportion of CG (63.9%) compared to individuals with SZ (56.25%) considered the mobile application to be appropriate. Correlation analysis indicated that younger age ( = .004) and higher levels of education ( = .01) were significantly associated with higher TAPS scores.
The mobile application was generally acceptable to patients and CG, with younger and more educated participants showing higher acceptability.
包括技术知识有限、隐私担忧或购买智能手机的经济限制等多重挑战，限制了在资源匮乏环境中针对精神分裂症（SZ）患者支持药物依从性的基于移动应用程序的干预措施的引入和实施。认识到这些障碍，本研究旨在探讨专门设计用于提高SZ患者及其照顾者（CG）药物依从性的移动应用程序的可接受性。
根据预先确定的选择标准，招募了64名被诊断为SZ且在过去六个月中病情缓解的个体以及36名CG，他们均就诊于一家三级护理教学机构的门诊精神科。使用改编版的治疗可接受性和偏好量表（TAPS）分别对SZ和CG参与者进行访谈，该量表评估了他们对移动应用程序的适宜性、适用性、有效性以及使用意愿的看法。在描述了旨在提高药物依从性的移动应用程序的拟议功能和潜在效用后，立即进行TAPS评估。
SZ和CG在人口统计学特征上没有显著差异，只是CG比SZ个体受雇的可能性显著更高（P = 0.02）。两组之间TAPS分数的比较显示，在对移动应用程序可接受性的看法上没有显著差异。然而，与SZ个体（56.25%）相比，更大比例的CG（63.9%）认为移动应用程序是合适的。相关分析表明，年龄较小（P = 0.004）和教育水平较高（P = 0.01）与更高的TAPS分数显著相关。
移动应用程序总体上为患者和CG所接受，年龄较小且受教育程度较高的参与者表现出更高的可接受性。
