Büşra Selma SAHA, Yaprak Sarıgöl ORDIN, Eda Ayten KANKAYA
Turkish Journal of Nephrology - 2026;35(2):126-135
Background: The use of mobile health (mHealth) applications to enhance adherence to immunosuppressive therapy is becoming increasingly common among kidney transplant recipients. However, many of these applications have been developed without adequately addressing patient-specific needs. This study aimed to identify the needs of kidney transplant recipients for mHealth applications to support adherence to immunosuppressive therapy. Methods: A mixed-methods design was utilized to collect both quantitative and qualitative data. The study sample was 144 kidney transplant recipients followed at a university hospital. Results: All participants had internet access; however, 65.27% had never heard of mHealth applications, and 72.22% had never used such tools. Despite this, 74.30% indicated a willingness to use an application to support medication adherence if it were recommended by healthcare professionals. The most frequently requested features were medication reminders and the ability to generate adherence reports. Qualitative analysis revealed 3 main themes: factors facilitating medication use, barriers to medication use, and expectations from a mobile application. Conclusion: Integration of medication use into daily routines, receiving social support, and fear of graft rejection were identified as key facilitators of adherence. In contrast, disruptions to routine emerged as a primary barrier. Although awareness and prior use of mHealth applications were low among participants, there was a strong willingness to adopt such tools if recommended by healthcare providers. Features such as medication reminders and adherence tracking were especially favored, highlighting the importance of user-centered design in future mHealth interventions.
