Medication Adherance of Elderly Citizens in Retirement Homes Through A Mobile Phone Adherence Monitoring Framework (Mpamf) for Developing Countries: A Case Study in South Africa

Abstract:

Background:This paper investigated medication adherence among elderly people in retirement villages in South Africa. Methods: A case study approach was used. Twelve participants were selected from six retirement homes in the Gauteng Province in South Africa. Data was collected using semi-structured open ended interview questions. The interviewees were asked to tell in their own words the different types of medicine taken, how many times per day, how often they forget to take their medication per week, and how are they reminded when they forget to take the medication. The interviewees were further asked if they owned mobile phone.Results: The findings revealed that the elderly people take an average of four to five pills three times per day which help control chronic diseases like renal disease, coronary artery diabetes mellitus types 1 & 2 and many others. It was further revealed that 100% of the elderly people own mobile phone. Conclusion: The results led to a proposed mobile phone adherence monitoring framework (MPAMF) based on self-efficacy of the elderly people. The MPAMF could leverage the existing technologies of mobile phones to remind the elderly people to take their medication,sends warning sign and report improper medication adherence to a caregiver.

Key words: Medication Adherence, Elderly citizen, Retirement home, Mobile phones.