Evaluating SMS reminders in improving ART and PMTCT adherence in Mozambique: challenges in achieving scale

Author(s):  
J. Davey ◽  
A. Nguimfack ◽  
S. Hares ◽  
W. Ponce ◽  
C. Sousa ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 140-148
Author(s):  
Kennedy M Ngowi ◽  
Eusebious Maro ◽  
Rob E Aarnoutse ◽  
Blandina T Mmbaga ◽  
Mirjam A. G Sprangers ◽  
...  

Background: Pregnant and breastfeeding Women Living with HIV (WLHIV) often have difficulties in reaching adequate levels of adherence (>95%) to Antiretroviral treatment. “Forgetting” is the most commonly mentioned reason. Sending reminders via SMS is expected to improve adherence. We conducted a pilot study to investigate acceptability, user experience and technical feasibility of sending reminder-SMS to WLHIV. Methods: This was a 6-months observational pilot-study among WLHIV attending antenatal and postnatal care at Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre in Moshi, Tanzania. Women received a reminder-SMS 30 minutes before usual time of intake. One hour later, they received an SMS asking whether they took medication to which they could reply with ‘Yes’ or ‘No’. Messages were sent 3 times a week on randomly chosen days to prevent reliance on daily messages. We calculated the percentage of number of SMS delivered, failed to be delivered, and replied to. We analysed feedback from exit-interviews about experience with the SMS-reminders. Results: 25 women were enrolled (age 18-45), 2 were lost to follow up. 5,054 messages were sent of which 53 failed to be delivered (1%). 1,880 SMS were sent with a question if medication was taken; 1,012 (54%) messages were replied to, of which 1,003 (99%) were replied with ‘YES’ and closely to ‘YES’, and a total of 9 (1%) with ‘NO’ and ‘closely to NO’. 868 messages (46%) were not responded to due to either dropout, change of phone number, loss of phone or network failure. Results from 18 interviews showed that 16 (89%) women were satisfied with SMS reminders. 2 (11%) were concerned about unwanted disclosure because of the content ‘don’t forget to take medication’ and one reported other privacy issues (6%). 3 (17%) women experienced stigma. Conclusion: 99%of SMS being delivered indicates that SMS reminders in this resource-limited setting are technically feasible. However, concerns regarding privacy were noted, specifically the risk of unwanted disclosure and the experience of stigma. Participants indicated that being made aware of their adherence, motivated them to adhere better. However, personalised and more neutral content of the SMS might be a way to improving the intervention.


Vaccine ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 987-993 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hotenzia Wakadha ◽  
Subhash Chandir ◽  
Elijah Victor Were ◽  
Alan Rubin ◽  
David Obor ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angela Reyes ◽  
Benjamin Roseth ◽  
Diego A. Vera-Cossio

Sending SMS reminders increased the probability of on-time renewals of IDs by 12 percentage points, while also allowing citizens to renew their IDs online only increased renewals by 8 percentage points. Providing an online option (instead of in-person renewals) was less effective due to a poor user experience with the online procedure. The poorest individuals who received reminders were also more likely to receive transfers from an emergency in-kind transfer delivered through digital vouchers.


2010 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 1-17
Author(s):  
Joan Richardson ◽  
Brian Corbitt

This case describes the key issues when an instant messaging prototype called TriggerThat was piloted and reviewed in a university environment. Short Messaging Service (SMS) was a popular technology amongst students and had previously been used in the university sector to push information to students (McCrindle 2006). This prototype and pilot conducted provided a more flexible use of SMS technology, enabling two-way push-pull SMS information transfer between academics and students. The push facility was used by academics to send assessment reminders, marks and alerts to their classes. Students were given the option of registering into TriggerThat to enable receipt of SMS reminders for information available on the university intranet. Surveys and focus groups were used to provide a comprehensive description of student uptake and usage of the technology. Review data and project documentation was used to create models to predict uptake and usage costs. Through the use of role plays in focus groups, which included all stakeholders, upgrades to system features, such as trigger words, were recommended. This case describes the experience of piloting SMS in the university setting and includes the functionality and tested trigger words used.


2020 ◽  
Vol 47 (4) ◽  
pp. 581-591
Author(s):  
Sarah D. Hohl ◽  
Veena Shankaran ◽  
Ari Bell-Brown ◽  
Rachel B. Issaka

Background. Surveillance colonoscopy 1-year after colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery effectively reduces CRC mortality, yet less than half of survivors undergo this procedure. Text message reminders can improve CRC screening and other health behaviors, but use of this strategy to address barriers to CRC surveillance has not been reported. Objectives. The goal of this qualitative study was to assess CRC survivor perspectives on barriers to colonoscopy to inform the design of a theory-based, short message service (SMS) intervention to increase surveillance colonoscopy utilization. Method. CRC survivors in Western Washington participated in one of two focus groups to explore perceived barriers to completing surveillance colonoscopy and preferences for SMS communication. Content analysis using codes representative of the health belief model and prospect theory constructs were applied to qualitative data. Results. Thirteen CRC survivors reported individual-, interpersonal-, and system-level barriers to surveillance colonoscopy completion. Participants were receptive to receiving SMS reminders to mitigate these barriers. They suggested that reminders offer supportive, loss-framed messaging; include educational content; and be personalized to communication preferences. Finally, they recommended that reminders begin no earlier than 9 months following CRC surgery and not include response prompts. Conclusions. Our study demonstrates that CRC survivors perceive SMS reminders as an acceptable, valuable tool for CRC surveillance. Furthermore, there may be value in integrating theoretical frameworks to design, implement, and evaluate SMS interventions to address barriers to CRC surveillance. As physicians play a key role in CRC surveillance, provider- and system-level interventions that could additively improve the impact of SMS interventions are also worth exploring.


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