Impact of mHealth on Medication Adherence in Older Adults with Chronic Diseases Facing Treatment Burden: A Systematic Review.

Background

In older adults, multimorbidity and polypharmacy complicate medication regimens and often lead to poor adherence. Mobile health (mHealth) has been suggested as a solution to enhance medication adherence in chronic conditions. Despite the increase in smartphone usage among people aged 65 and over, there is still a lack of evidence of mHealth in this age group.

Objectives

To evaluate the impact of mHealth interventions on medication adherence in older adults (≥65 years) with chronic diseases, compared with standard care or other interventions.

Methods

The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA 2020 guidelines and the Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews. Randomized controlled trials published from 2000 onwards were considered with no linguistic or geographical restrictions. The databases searched included PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Library, and CINAHL. Methodological quality was assessed using the Revised Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool for Randomized Trials.

Results

551 records were initially identified, from which 8 randomized controlled trials published between 2014 and 2025 were included. Six of eight studies showed that medication adherence in mHealth groups was significantly higher than in controls. However, one study found benefits only in specific drug classes rather than a general improvement.

Conclusions

The results of this review suggest that mHealth has the potential to improve medication adherence among older adults with chronic diseases, especially when interventions go beyond simple reminders and incorporate educational and relational components. Nevertheless, higher quality studies with larger samples and longer follow-up are needed to clarify mHealth's role in the care of this population.