Study of a mobile application to improve the medicine intake of persons with Schizophrenia

Not yet recruiting

Conditions: Schizoaffective disorders, (2) ICD-10 Condition: F20||Schizophrenia,

Registration Number: CTRI/2024/03/063998

Lead Sponsor: St Johns National Academy of Health Sciences

Brief Summary: Schizophrenia(SZ) is a severe mental disorder that significantly disrupts the lives ofpeople with the illness and their families. According to the National MentalHealth Survey of India, Schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders affectsaround 1.4 % of the adult population in their lifetime.1 SZ causesignificant and long-lasting disabilityin several areas of daily functioning, (i.e., self-care, interpersonalrelationships, communication, education, or work).

Discontinuationof medications increase the risk of relapse by 5 times.2 Compliance with medicationsis an essential factor for improvement in persons with SZ. Factors leading tonon-adherence of medication are poor insight about the illness, side effects ofmedications, cognitive dysfunction, and substance use.

Manyinterventions have been tried to improve the medication adherence of patientswith schizophrenia.3 Individualized interventions using like setting alarms and usingchecklists have shown significant improvement in compliance of the medications.4In the era of mobile applications most of the persons use mobile applicationsfor multiple purposes, which can potentially influence a person’s life in manyways. A meta-analysis conducted in 2016 showed that 66.4% of psychotic patientsowned a mobile phone.5 A study conducted in North India found that84.4% of patients with severe mental disorders owned a mobile phone.6 So if used properly it can also help inimproving the life of a person with SZ.

Manymobile applications have been used to improve medication compliance in general. According to a systematic review, 7 out of11 studies confirmed that mobile apps increased treatment adherence.7Average patient satisfaction score was 8.1 out of 10.

But only a few mobile applications havespecifically focused the persons with schizophrenia. Very few studies have investigated theefficacy of mobile applications to improve medication adherence in patientswith schizophrenia. This study will be assessing the feasibility andacceptability of developing a mobile application and using the application forimproving the compliance of medications in persons with schizophrenia andschizoaffective disorder.

Detailed Description: Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status: Not Yet Recruiting

Sex: All

Target Recruitment: 50

Inclusion Criteria

1.Persons diagnosed with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder and are in remission for the past two months.
2.Age 18-60 years of any gender.
3.Able to read and understand Malayalam/ English.

Exclusion Criteria

1.Patients who have active psychotic or mood symptoms.
2.History of substance use (except nicotine) 3.Having any serious physical illness.

Study & Design

Study Type: Interventional

Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Develop a mobile mental health application for the improvement of medication adherence in persons with schizophrenia & schizoaffective disorder	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
To look at the feasibility & acceptability of using the mobile application for the improvement of medication adherence in persons with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder	6 months

Trial Locations

Locations (1): Government Medical College, Palakkad
🇮🇳
Palakkad, KERALA, India
Government Medical College, Palakkad
🇮🇳Palakkad, KERALA, India
Dr Nimmy Chandran
Principal investigator
9560372210
drnimmychandran@gmail.com