# A Systematic Review on Pill and Medication Dispensers from a Human-Centered Perspective

## TL;DR

This paper reviews pill dispensers from a user-focused angle, analyzing their design and development to improve medication adherence.

## Contribution

The study systematically categorizes pill dispenser solutions and emphasizes user-centered design considerations.

## Key findings

- Pill dispensers are classified based on their development stage and technical architecture.
- User interface design and user involvement in dispenser management are critical factors for success.
- The review highlights gaps and opportunities for future research in this area.

## Abstract

As medication adherence represents a critical challenge in healthcare, pill and medication dispensers have gained increasing attention as potential solutions to promote adherence and improve patient outcomes. Following the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) methodology, we carried out a systematic literature review on papers indexed in Scopus and PubMed, which present solutions for pill or medication dispensers. Given the importance of user acceptance for these solutions, the research questions of the survey are driven by a human-centered perspective. We first provide an overview of the different solutions, classifying them according to their stage of development. We then analyze each solution considering its hardware/software architecture. Finally, we review the characteristics of user interfaces designed for interacting with pill and medication dispensers and analyze the involvement of different types of users in dispenser management. On the basis of this analysis, we draw findings and indications for future research that are aimed to provide insights to healthcare professionals, researchers, and designers who are interested in developing and using pill and medication dispensers.