The Savvy for Stroke Survivors Study: Testing a Novel Tool to Help Stroke Survivors Take Their Medication
The goal of this study is to test if Savvy, a multimodal intervention (consisting of psychological exercises, a weekly pill organizer, and a text message reminder system) can improve medication adherence in stroke survivors. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can the Savvy tool improve medication adherence in stroke survivors compared to usual care? * Does the use of the Savvy tool lead to better blood pressure control after a stroke? The investigators will compare the use of the Savvy intervention to a control group that receives usual care, including a package of educational materials. The study consists of the following components: * Participants will receive the Savvy intervention or usual care. The intervention package consists of short psychological exercises over the phone, a weekly medication organizer to support daily medication intake, and text message reminders to take medication and refill the medication box. Participants in the control group will receive usual care, including educational materials about the importance of blood pressure and medication. * All participants will receive a free home blood pressure monitor and will be requested to measure their blood pressure at certain time points during the study. * Participants will be enrolled in the study for 6 months and will have virtual follow-up calls at 3 and 6 months.
• Participants must be between the ages of 18 years old and 99 years old at the time of consent.
• Self-reported primary diagnosis of stroke (ischemic or hemorrhagic) within the past 12 months, without structural, traumatic or secondary causes (including aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, or tumor).
• Currently prescribed an antihypertensive regimen.
• Currently less than optimal adherence to medication, defined as a score \<25 on the Medication Adherence Report Scale (MARS-5).
• Cognitively able to manage medications independently, defined as a score of \>4 on the Six-Item Screener (SIS) for cognitive impairment.
• Speaks English sufficiently to complete consent and study procedures.
• Has access to a phone that can receive text messages and is able to participate in scheduled phone-based follow-up assessments.
• Uses, or willing to start using, a single pharmacy chain for prescription refills and is willing to provide consent for the study team to contact the pharmacy to retrieve prescription refill data.
• Willing and able to provide informed consent.