The effect of medical drug reminder mobile application on treatment compliance in women with breast cancer under adjuvant hormone treatment

Purpose: This study was planned to investigate the effects of a nurse-led medication reminder mobile application on treatment adherence in women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant hormone therapy. Materials and methods: The research was planned as a prospective quasi-experimental study with pretest, posttest, and control groups, in which the simple randomization method was employed. It consisted of 52 women with breast cancer receiving adjuvant hormone therapy, including 26 in the experimental group and 26 in the control group. The medication reminder mobile application developed by the researchers was utilized in the experimental group to determine its effect on treatment adherence. Data collection measures included a personal information form and the Medication Adherence Self-Efficacy Scale (MASES). After the baseline data of the experimental and control groups were collected, the experimental group used the “Medication Reminder” mobile application for eight weeks. At the end of the eight weeks, the MASES was applied to both groups again. Results: A statistically significant difference was found between the pre-test and post-test MASES total scores of the experimental group (p<0.05). The post-test MASES total scores of the experimental group were significantly higher than their pre-test scores. The inter-group comparisons indicated that the post-test MASES total scores of the experimental group were statistically significantly higher than those of the control group (p<0.05). Conclusion: It was concluded that the “Medication Reminder” mobile application was an effective tool in increasing treatment adherence in women with breast cancer under adjuvant hormone therapy.