Abstract
BackgroundStudies have been conducted in developing countries using SMS to communicate with patients to reduce the number of missed appointments and improve retention in treatment, however; very few have been scaled up. One possible reason for this could be that patients or staff are dissatisfied with the method in some way. This paper reports a study of patients’ and healthcare workers’ (HCW) views on an mHealth intervention aiming to support retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) treatment in Mozambique.MethodsThe study was conducted at five healthcare centres in Mozambique. Automated SMS health promotions and reminders were sent to patients in a RCT. A total of 141 patients and 40 HCWs were interviewed. Respondents rated usefulness, perceived benefits, ease of use, satisfaction, and risks of the SMS system using a Likert scale questionnaire. A semi-structured interview guide was followed. Interviews were transcribed and thematic analysis was conducted.ResultsBoth patients and HCW found the SMS system useful and reliable. Most highly rated positive effects were reducing the number of failures to collect medication and avoiding missing appointments. Patients’ confidence in the system was high. Most perceived the system to improve communication between health-care provider and patient and assist in education and motivation. The automatic recognition of questions from patients and the provision of appropriate answers (a unique feature of this system) was especially appreciated. A majority would recommend the system to other patients or healthcare centres. Risks also were mentioned, mostly by HCW, of unintentional disclosure of health status in cases where patients use shared phones.ConclusionsThe results suggest that SMS technology for HIV and TB should be used to transmit reminders for appointments, medications, motivational texts, and health education to increase retention in care. Measures must be taken to reduce risks of privacy intrusion, but these are not a main obstacle for scaling up systems of this kind.
Highlights
The rapid growth of mobile technologies has led to the development of mobile health interventions aiming at helping treat or avoid a range of health conditions
A majority would recommend the system to other patients or healthcare centres
The results suggest that short message service (SMS) technology for HIV and TB should be used to transmit reminders for appointments, medications, motivational texts, and health education to increase retention in care
Summary
The rapid growth of mobile technologies has led to the development of mobile health (mHealth) interventions aiming at helping treat or avoid a range of health conditions. Tuberculosis (TB) and HIV/AIDS are two major public health concerns. In 2015, Mozambique had 1.5 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) and 223 new infections and 108 deaths related to HIV occur per day [2]. Interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) and TB treatment are urgently needed in HIV-infected patients, in developing countries where the majority of PLHIV reside [5]. Studies have been conducted in developing countries using SMS to communicate with patients to reduce the number of missed appointments and improve retention in treatment, ; very few have been scaled up. This paper reports a study of patients’ and healthcare workers’ (HCW) views on an mHealth intervention aiming to support retention in antiretroviral therapy (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) treatment in Mozambique
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
