Digital Health Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review
Kaleab Taye Haile, Wejdan Shahin, Eyob Alemayehu Gebreyohannes, Abdella Birhan Yabeyu, Amina Hareem, Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou, Xun Yi, Kate Wang · 2026
Read Digital Health Interventions to Improve Medication Adherence Among Older Adults: A Systematic Review by Kaleab Taye Haile, Wejdan Shahin, Eyob Alemayehu Gebreyohannes, Abdella Birhan Yabeyu, Amina Hareem, Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou, Xun Yi, Kate Wang (2026) in the Tower of Babel, a free online library of public-domain works preserved in clean, searchable text. No sign-up. The full text is served as a plain-text file at a predictable URL, where text is present: https://antarctic-labs.com/tower-of-babel/pmc-13379504.txt.
Description
Kaleab Haile and co-authors review digital tools meant to help older adults take their medicines as prescribed, in a 2026 systematic review. Missed doses are common in later life and costly to health. The team searched five databases up to May 2025 for studies of any digital health tool in people aged 65 and over, with a comparison group or a before-and-after design.
Thirty-five studies qualified, most of them randomized trials. Evidence quality ranged widely, from very low to moderate certainty. Nearly half the studies found the digital tool improved adherence. Phone apps, electronic reminders, social robots, telenursing, and combined tools showed the most promise in their small sets. Tools that bundled several features, above all reminders and prompts, did best. Others gave mixed or flat results. The authors favor tailored, interactive designs for future work.
Catalog record
| CREATOR | Kaleab Taye Haile, Wejdan Shahin, Eyob Alemayehu Gebreyohannes, Abdella Birhan Yabeyu, Amina Hareem, Mulugeta Hayelom Kalayou, Xun Yi, Kate Wang |
|---|---|
| YEAR | 2026 |
| COLLECTION | PAPERS |
| FORMAT | TXT |
| FILE SIZE | 60 KB |
| VERSION | 1.0 |
| LICENSE | CC BY 4.0 |
| RIGHTS | CC BY |
| SOURCE | Europe PMC |