Phone App Rewards to Help Adults with High Blood Pressure Take Medication
Tests a phone app with daily rewards for taking blood pressure pills.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- Chad Stecher@asu.edu
- Where
- Los Angeles, United StatesSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Mobile Cued Adherence Therapy (mCAT) for Blood Pressure Medication
- Status
- Recruiting
- People taking part
- 600 people, planned
- Started
- 1 Sept 2025
- Expected to end
- 30 Mar 2029
- Type of study
- Interventional, 3 groupsOne group gets no study treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Wellth App
- Action Planning
- Wellth + Cue
- Record updated
- 16 March 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with high blood pressure who already take blood pressure medicine but often miss doses. It tests a smartphone app with daily rewards, with or without action planning.
- Age
- 18 years or older
- Sex
- All sexes can join
- Disease stage
- Stage I or stage II high blood pressure (hypertension)
- Earlier treatment
- Must have been prescribed blood pressure medication for at least 6 months before joining. Must have missed prescription coverage for over 73 days in the past 12 months (under 80% mean adherence), seen in Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) drug claims.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Cannot read, write or understand English
- No daily access to a smartphone
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 7 criteriaShow less
Other criteria
- Eligibility Criteria:
- Aged 18 years or older
- Currently diagnosed with hypertension (either stage I or stage II hypertension)
- Able to read/write/understand English
- Have daily access to a smartphone
- Engaged in hypertension care: Already been prescribed hypertension medication for a minimum of 6 months at the time of study enrollment
- Demonstrated AH medication nonadherence by having over 73 days without documented AH medication prescription coverage (observable in Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) prescription drugs claims) in the past 12 months (i.e. <80% mean adherence)
Where in United States
- Wellth Inc.Los Angeles, United StatesContact: Wellth Support TeamTaking people
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
The goal of this clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of a novel mobile health-based habit formation intervention for increasing and maintaining adherence to anti-hypertensive (AH) medication among people living with hypertension and indicate medication nonadherence. The main questions it aims to answer are:
Read full original descriptionShow less
* Can daily incentives for AH pill taking increase and maintain AH medication adherence, control blood pressure, and reduce healthcare utilization and costs? * Can daily incentives for AH pill taking, combined with action planning (e.g., "After I drink my morning coffee, I will take my medication.") increase and maintain medication adherence, control blood pressure, and reduce healthcare utilization and costs? * What aspects of daily incentives and/or action planning do participants find most helpful or effective for AH medication adherence? * What barriers exist for participants who receive daily incentives and/or action planning?
Researchers will compare three study groups: those who only receive daily incentives for the AH pill taking, those who receive daily incentives for AH pill taking combined with action planning, and a control group (who do not receive daily incentives for AH pill taking or action planning). By comparing these three groups, the researchers will be able to determine the effectiveness of the daily incentives with or without action planning for promoting long-term AH medication adherence, reduce healthcare costs, and improve blood pressure.
Participants will:
* Complete 5 online surveys over the course of 2 years (baseline, month 4, month 8, month 12, month 24). * Submit blood pressure reading for 7 consecutive days after each survey timepoint. * Submit photo evidence of their AH pill taking for 4 months (intervention groups only).
The highest- and lowest-performing participants in each intervention group will also be invited to complete a 30-minute interview to identify additional factors that contributed to either successful or unsuccessful completion of the intervention.
The 3 groups in the trial
- ControlNo study treatment, for comparison
Control participants will receive SMS reminders of each assessment point and monthly two-way SMS messages to provide AH pill-taking tips and to ask if participants are feeling dizziness or other symptoms of low blood pressure. Participants in the control group will not receive additional adherence reminders, financial incentives, or the Wellth app during the 24-month study.
- Wellth onlyTreatment being tested
Participants in the Wellth only group will receive daily financial incentives during the 4-month intervention for providing photo evidence of their pill taking using the mobile app Wellth (i.e. taking a daily picture of their pills in their hand and submitting it through the Wellth app). The Wellth app will also provide reminders at the end of the day if participants have not yet completed their daily check-in. Participants will also receive SMS reminders of each assessment point and monthly two-way SMS messages to provide AH pill-taking tips and to ask if participants are feeling dizziness or other symptoms of low blood pressure.
Treatment: Wellth App
- Wellth + CueTreatment being tested
Participants in the Wellth+Cue group will receive daily financial incentives during the 4-month intervention for providing photo evidence of their pill taking using the mobile app Wellth (i.e. taking a daily picture of their pills in their hand and submitting it through the Wellth app), conditional on using their action plan. The Wellth app will also provide reminders at the end of the day if participants have not yet completed their daily check-in. Participants will also receive SMS reminders of each assessment point and monthly two-way SMS messages to provide AH pill-taking tips and to ask if participants are feeling dizziness or other symptoms of low blood pressure.
Treatment: Action Planning and Wellth + Cue
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Mobile Cued Adherence Therapy (mCAT): A Scalable Habit Formation Intervention to Improve Blood Pressure Medication Adherence Based on a Widely Used Smartphone App
- Plain-language title
- Phone App Rewards to Help Adults with High Blood Pressure Take MedicationGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 12 November 2026.
- Record updated
- 16 March 2026