HIV-positive
Conditions
Keywords
mhealth, mobile health, SMS, SMS reminders, ART retention in care, PMTCT, PMTCT cascade, retention in care
Brief summary
Mobile phone SMS are increasingly used to promote positive health behaviour with an aim to improve health outcomes. However, robust data on the efficacy of SMS on health seeking behaviour and patient outcomes in resource-limited settings is sparse. The SMSaude study aims to assess whether regular SMS-reminders improve retention on antiretroviral therapy (ART) and prevention of mother to child transmission of HIV (PMTCT) programmes in Mozambique.
Detailed description
SMSaúde is a multisite randomised clinical trial of HIV-infected adults on ART and HIV-infected pregnant women in six clinics in Maputo Province, Mozambique. Eligibility criteria include: currently residing in the province; no plans to move for 12+ months; have own cell-phone; literate; 8-28 weeks pregnant (PMTCT cohort); on first line ART and on ART for \>15 days (ART cohort). Patients were interviewed for eligibility, and then randomized (1:1). SMS reminders are sent to the intervention group using software that picks up the patient's next appointment from the electronic patient database. Primary outcomes tested were improved retention in ART care and uptake of all PMTCT services.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSMS reminders
Intervention participants only will be sent text messages to their phones. The content of text messages will have a maximum of 160 characters and not mention HIV and will state the dates for the forthcoming consultations, visits to the pharmacy, lab results, time to take medication and reminders for patients who miss appointments.
Sponsors
Vodacom
United States Agency for International Development (USAID)
Department for International Development, United Kingdom
Absolute Return for Kids
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE (Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* On ART for \>15 days (for ART only) * Live in province and plan to stay for 12+ months * Have cell phone * Literate For PMTCT (in addition to above criteria): \- pregnant between 8-28 weeks
Exclusion criteria
\-
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Retention in ART care | 12 months |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Retention in PMTCT care | until 8 weeks post partum |
Countries
Mozambique
Outcome results
None listed