Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Research Protocols
Date Submitted: Sep 4, 2019
Date Accepted: Mar 21, 2020
TREATMENT ADHERENCE AMONG HIV PATIENTS USING THE SINGLE AND DOUBLE WAY MOBILE PHONE TEXT MESSAGES: A Protocol
ABSTRACT
Background:
Incomplete adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) is one of the factors that contribute to HIV drug resistance and it’s a major problem for the public health system in controlling HIV pandemic. There is emerging evidence that short message service (SMS) can play an important role in healthcare delivery among HIV patients on ART, especially in resource-limited settings.
Objective:
The general objective of this trial is to assess the role of double-way and single-way SMS on adherence to HIV treatment. We hypothesised that sending weekly text messages through the single-way and double-way SMS approach shall improve on adherence to ART among HIV patients and on associated clinical outcomes (quality of life and viral load).
Methods:
A Randomised Controlled Trial shall be carried out among HIV participants who have been on ART for at least one month from an accredited treatment center namely; the Buea Regional Hospital and Kumba District Hospital of the South West Region, Cameroon. HIV participants both male and female aged 21 years of age and above shall make up a sample size of 207. The interventions shall involve the use of mobile phone text messages. Before commencing the interventing, a focus group discussion shall be carried out among the participants to understand their perception about the use of SMS-based intervention to improve on adherence. A total of 210 participants shall be randomised either to receive a single-way text message (SMS sent to a recipient without recipient sending a reply) or double-way text message (SMS sent to a recipient and recipient sends a reply) or the control (no SMS only standard care). Data on adherence, quality of life and viral load shall be collected at baseline and after 6th month and analyzed using SPSS version 21 while qualitative data shall be analysed using ATLAS.ti 7.5
Results:
Ethical clearance has been obtained from the Faculty of Health Sciences Institutional Review Board. Data collection shall begin on September 2019 with Focus Group Discussions and baseline data. Post-intervention shall be collected after 6 months (March 2020). At the end of the study, we shall be able to understand the perception of patients towards SMS-based intervention and also assess the impact of the single and double-way SMS on treatment adherence among HIV patients and associated clinical outcomes (quality of life and viral load).
Conclusions:
The impact of SMS varies across different settings. There results from this study shall determine the perception of patients towards SMS-based intervention and its impact on health care delivery among HIV patients on ART. Clinical Trial: The trial is still under review at the Pan African Clinical trial Registry
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