Poor medication adherence (not taking medications as prescribed) is believed to be one of the most important reasons for graft loss. Transplant recipients of all ages may have trouble taking their medications as prescribed, but young people seem to be at especially high risk for poor adherence. This may explain why young people 17-24 years old are at higher risk for graft loss than any other age group. 

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A previous study, called TAKE-IT, found that adherence was better when young people worked with an adherence Coach, who helped them figure out what got in the way of taking their medication and how to improve. Young people who received the TAKE-IT intervention used a multi-dose electronic pillbox that tracked their medication-taking and could send them text-message reminders when they did not take their medications on time. However, there were 2 things that could prevent the TAKE-IT intervention from being used in real life. First, the Coaches were not part of the usual transplant team. We don’t know if the transplant team could do what the coaches did. Second, the pillbox was not ideal for all young people. Many said they would prefer a smaller, more portable device.

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