AUTHOR=van Dommelen Paula , Arnaud Lilian , Assefi Aria Reza , Crespo Maria Lourdes , Debicki Matias , Michelis Fulvio , Koledova Ekaterina 

TITLE=The growzen™ buddy smartphone app to improve adherence in patients receiving recombinant human growth hormone therapy: a retrospective observational study in Argentina

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Endocrinology

VOLUME=15

YEAR=2024

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/endocrinology/articles/10.3389/fendo.2024.1372716

DOI=10.3389/fendo.2024.1372716

ISSN=1664-2392

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>This study in Argentina evaluated the impact of the growzen™ buddy smartphone app on adherence to recombinant human growth hormone (r-hGH) treatment.</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The adherence data, invitation dates with a link to the app, app activation dates, and height measurements entered were extracted from the growzen™ digital health ecosystem. Patients with 12 months of adherence data, aged ≥2 years at treatment start, and aged &lt;19 years were selected both before and after app implementation. Mean adherence was classified as optimal (≥85%) <italic>versus</italic> suboptimal (&lt;85%). Adherence before and after implementation and the pre–post effect on adherence were assessed.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Data for 830 patients were available. Prior to app implementation, the proportion of patients with optimal adherence was 68% (<italic>n</italic> = 348/515). Following the app implementation, out of 315 patients, 302 (96%) received an invitation with a link to the app, 225 (71%) activated their account, and 127 (40%) entered height data in the first year. There was a significant early increase in the proportion of patients with optimal adherence following implementation: 82% (<italic>n</italic> = 258/315), <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001. After implementation, the proportion of patients with optimal adherence included 80% (<italic>n</italic> = 78/98) of those with an active account who did not enter height measurements and 89% (<italic>n</italic> = 113/127) of those who did. There was a significant and positive pre–post app effect on adherence (<italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.01) in patients with an active account.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>Our results show that using the growzen™ buddy app has a rapid and positive impact on adherence to r-hGH treatment, and patients who were more engaged with the app demonstrated better adherence.</p></sec>