Video-Based Directly Observed Therapy (ViDOT) as a strategic tool to improve medication adherence in epilepsy: A narrative review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of epilepsy is highest in the Central Africa subregion most especially in rural settlements. This is further compounded by a high prevalence of treatment gap, from poor drug adherence, and poor road network. One approach to overcoming this burden is to leverage Video-based Directly Observed Therapy (ViDOT) use for stable patients living with epilepsy, harnessing the advancement in mHealth technologies, and widespread adoption of smartphones. ViDOT is a form of telemedicine that is a smartphone-based, treatment approach for monitoring and evaluating remote patients. OBJECTIVE: We performed a narrative review of the existing literature using electronic databases from PubMed and Google Scholar to identify relevant publications related to ViDOT and chronic diseases, in particular epilepsy. METHODS: The selected articles were assessed for relevance, and key findings were synthesized to provide an overview of the role of ViDOT in addressing the challenges of drug adherence in epilepsy. RESULTS: The review shows that poor drug adherence is a major risk for poor outcomes in patients living with epilepsy. ViDOT has the potential to significantly contribute to improved drug adherence in patients living with epilepsy. Other benefits of ViDOT include the elimination of prolonged waiting times, improvement in access to specialized care, eradication of self-induced stigma and discrimination, diminishing neurologists’ workload, and cost-effectiveness. Challenges include poor network coverage and unstable internet service. CONCLUSION: Giving a brief psychoeducation about epilepsy, anti-epileptic drug (AED) side effects, and the importance of sticking with the recommended drug use can improve AED adherence and epilepsy outcomes. Information dissemination through ViDOT to people with epilepsy and their caregivers at large is important to promote a healthy life.