A Pilot Study of mDOT for Immunosuppressant Adherence in Adult Liver Transplant Recipients

Study Overview
=================
Brief Summary
-----------------
The investigators are interested in whether or not the use of a mobile health (mHealth) application increases the rate of immunosuppressant medication adherence among adult liver transplant recipients. The investigators aim to test this by randomly assigning transplant recipients to the intervention (use of an mHealth app to manage and track their immunosuppression regimen) or control arm (standard of care) upon discharge from their initial transplant hospitalization, and tracking medication adherence over time. The study population will be approximately 50 adult liver transplant recipients at the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Detailed Description
-----------------
In adult transplant recipients, poor adherence to immunosuppressant medications carries the risk of graft rejection, post-transplant complications, and increased healthcare costs. In adult liver transplant recipients, adherence to immunosuppressant drugs, as well as to general medical indications (e.g. avoiding alcohol intake), is imperative to short- and long-term outcomes. The rate of non-adherence to immunosuppressant medications in this population varies vastly, with reports ranging from 15-40%. Because of lacking objective and accurate non-adherence measurements, the true implications and prevalence of non-adherence is not yet well understood. Therefore, the investigators believe that mobile health (mHealth) technology has the potential to allow clinicians and researchers to more comprehensively address and understand non-adherence in adult liver transplant recipients. Additionally, an mHealth application with the ability to track symptoms, side effects, and alcohol cravings could provide clinicians with valuable information on post-transplant care. We will use a mobile health platform that enables users to track dose-by-dose medication adherence through asynchronous, video directly observed therapy (DOT). This helps patients take their medication as prescribed and gives providers the assurance that their patients are supported and successful in treatment. DOT is the practice of watching a patient take every dose of medicine in-person, and has typically only been done in extreme cases because it can be both costly and burdensome: DOT is the standard of care for Tuberculosis treatment and has proven high-adherence rates. Through mHealth technology, DOT can be used more broadly and without added burden; emocha's technology allows this through enabling patients to use their mobile application to view their regimen, record themselves taking every dose of their medication, report side effects or symptoms, visualize their treatment progress, and access educational content. This information is encrypted and transmitted to a HIPAA-secure web portal for providers to review. The aim of this study is to conduct a randomized control trial to compare medication adherence between patients who use the mHealth application against controls who do not.

Official Title
-----------------
A Pilot Study of Mobile Directly Observed Therapy (mDOT) for Immunosuppressant Adherence in Adult Liver Transplant Recipients

Conditions
-----------------
Medication Adherence, Liver Transplant

Intervention / Treatment
-----------------
* Other: mHealth Intervention


Participation Criteria
=================
Eligibility Criteria
-----------------
Inclusion Criteria: Greater than or equal to 22 years of age Receive a liver transplant at Johns Hopkins Hospital Exclusion Criteria: Non-English speaking liver transplant recipients

Ages Eligible for Study
-----------------
Minimum Age: 22 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
-----------------
All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
-----------------
No

Study Plan
=================
How is the study designed?
-----------------

Design Details

Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Interventional Model Description: This is a single center, prospective, randomized control trial with two arms. Participants in the intervention arm will use the mHealth app to manage and track their immunosuppression medical regimen post-transplant, and participants in the control arm will receive the current standard of follow-up care post-transplant.
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Standard of Care<br>Participants in the control arm will be instructed to take their immunosuppressant medications as prescribed and attend required follow-up as is standard of care, and will not receive the mHealth application. | |
| Experimental: mHealth Intervention<br>Participants in the intervention arm will receive the mHealth app either while they are an inpatient post-transplant, or at their first post-transplant clinic visit. Study personnel will assist participants assigned to the mHealth intervention arm with downloading the application and explain its functioning. Participants will then use the application to aid in immunosuppressant medication adherence post-transplant. | Other: mHealth Intervention<br>* The mHealth application will allow liver transplant recipients to see their medication regimen, record a video of themselves taking every dose, report side effects or symptoms, visualize their treatment progress, and access educational content. This information is encrypted and transmitted to a HIPAA-secure web portal for providers to review.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
-----------------
Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 12-week immunosuppression medication adherence | After 12 weeks in the study, patients will complete the 4-item immunosuppressant therapy adherence instrument (ITAS) to determine self-reported medication adherence (scores range from 0-12 with 0 indicating very poor adherence and 12 indicating perfect adherence). Additionally, immunosuppression level trends will be tracked via electronic medical record review to determine medication adherence. | 12 weeks | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Feasibility of using the mHealth Application as Assessed by a Semi-Structured Interview and a 17-Item Survey | After 12 weeks in the study, participants will be asked to participate in a semi-structured phone interview in which they will answer questions regarding their medication adherence habits and their thoughts on how our mHealth technology was or was not helpful. They will also complete a 17-question post-satisfaction survey assessing their satisfaction levels with the mhealth technology. Responses in the 17-item survey are on a 7-item Likert scale, ranging from Strongly Agree to Strongly Disagree. | 12 weeks | 
| Alcohol Craving Assessment | As abstaining from alcohol is important following liver transplantation, we will administer a daily question through the mDOT app asking about alcohol craving and use. Patients who screen positive for alcohol craving and or use through the daily in-app question will be referred to a transplant social worker who will administer the Alcohol Craving Questionnaire Short Form. | 12 weeks | 

 Terms related to the study
=================
Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
-----------------
mHealth, liver transplantation, medication adherence, video directly observed therapy