Abstract
BACKGROUND: Medication adherence and lifestyle modification remain key in the management of hypertension. Leveraging mobile technologies to improve patient adherence has been found to be effective in chronic disease management. Given the high mobile penetration and the opportunities it provides for encouraging lifestyle modification, an app such as WhatsApp, which is a free-to-use and real-time messaging platform, could facilitate patient-clinician interactions. We present a protocol for a WhatsApp-led mobile health (mHealth) intervention to improve adherence to medication and healthy lifestyles among adults aged 40 to 59 years in Kerala, India. OBJECTIVE: The study aims to assess the impact of the WhatsApp-led mHealth strategy on blood pressure measures and adherence to medication and lifestyle modification. The study also focuses on exploring participants' views on feasibility, facilitators, and challenges, as well as their intention to use this WhatsApp-led mHealth strategy. METHODS: The study will follow a multiphase mixed methods (sequential explanatory) design with an initial quantitative phase (quasi-experimental study design) followed by a qualitative phase (phenomenological approach). Multistage cluster sampling will be adopted. Using a survey checklist and blood pressure measurements, community-dwelling adults aged 40 to 59 years will be screened for hypertension. Approximately 120 participants with hypertension will be assigned each to the intervention and control arms. All the participants will be advised to follow routine hypertension care from health care providers. Additionally, participants in the intervention arm will receive regular health messages and reminders over WhatsApp. A baseline survey will be conducted at enrollment, and a follow-up survey will be conducted after 3 months at the end of the intervention. The qualitative phase will involve follow-up interviews. Participants will be selected through quota sampling from those with the lowest and highest adherence to medication and lifestyle modification after receiving the intervention. Statistical analysis for survey data and thematic analysis for qualitative data will be conducted. RESULTS: The study received ethics approval (IHEC/CUK/2024/04) from the Institutional Human Ethics Committee of the Central University of Kerala. All 240 participants were recruited by July 2025. The study completed data collection in August 2025 and is expected to finish data analysis by April 2026. The study results are expected to be submitted for publication in July 2026. CONCLUSIONS: The study will be a potential strategy to address nonadherence to treatment and lifestyle regimens, which is a critical bottleneck to controlling hypertension and preventing complications. The study could be proof for a WhatsApp-led mHealth strategy that can be integrated into hypertension management at the community level, especially for improving hypertension awareness and reminders for behavior change.