Journal of medical Internet research
Effectiveness of a Behavior Change Wheel-Informed WeChat-Based Messaging Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence After Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: 12-Week Quasi-Experimental Study
By Fang Y, Wu W, Chen D and 5 others.
Abstract
Background
Medication nonadherence after percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) remains a major barrier to secondary prevention. Prior SMS text messaging interventions have shown inconsistent results, often limited to reminders without addressing behavioral or psychological determinants.
Objective
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a theory-informed, WeChat-based messaging intervention for improving medication adherence and patient-reported outcomes after PCI.
Methods
A nonrandomized quasi-experimental parallel-group study was conducted from July 2022 to March 2023 at a tertiary hospital in Hangzhou, China. Patients were allocated by ward admission to the intervention or control group. The intervention comprised 12-week WeChat-based medication reminders and theory-informed messages mapped to capability, opportunity, and motivation-behavior model domains and behavior change techniques. The primary outcome was medication adherence measured using the 8-item Morisky Medication Adherence Scale (MMAS-8); secondary outcomes were medication beliefs, self-efficacy, and disease-specific health status measured using the Beliefs About Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ)-Specific, Self-Efficacy for Appropriate Medication Use Scale, and Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), respectively. Outcomes were assessed at baseline and 12 weeks by blinded assessors and analyzed using baseline-adjusted analysis of covariance based on the observed outcome data for all 92 participants. Sensitivity analyses included a per-protocol analysis restricted to the 87 participants who completed the full assigned care protocol and a difference-in-differences analysis comparing changes from baseline to 12 weeks between groups.



