Motivational Engineering for Medication Adherence

While Japan's universal health insurance system reduces the burden of medical expenses, it may lack direct incentives to improve patient adherence to medication. To solve the problem, penalties and financial incentives have been considered as possible measures. However, these methods are not suited to the cultural background of Japan and may have limited effectiveness. In this study, we empirically verified a new intervention model suited to the Japanese context. Drawing an analogy between reporting on the progress of a graduation thesis and medication adherence, we focused on “social needs” within Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs as a motivational mechanism. We utilized notifications and information sharing through Slack to engage students. Furthermore, we propose that a “motivation engineering” perspective is essential for problem solving, in which individual motivations are analyzed scientifically and the most appropriate intervention measures are designed. The experimental results suggest that understanding personal values and fostering habit formation are important factors in influencing medication behavior. Additionally, the findings highlight the importance of designing individual intervention measures and motivation strategies that account for cultural characteristics.