scholarly journals Effectiveness of reminder strategies on cancer screening adherence: a randomised controlled trial

2018 ◽  
Vol 68 (674) ◽  
pp. e604-e611 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin CS Wong ◽  
Jessica YL Ching ◽  
Junjie Huang ◽  
John CT Wong ◽  
Thomas YT Lam ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Expected Return ◽  
Negative Finding ◽  
Screening Practice ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Telephone Reminder ◽  
Telephone Reminders ◽  
Asymptomatic Individuals ◽  
Randomised Controlled

BackgroundFew randomised controlled trials (RCTs) have evaluated the different recalling approaches for enhancing adherence to faecal immunochemical test (FIT)-based screening.AimThe authors evaluated the effectiveness of two telecommunication strategies on improving adherence to yearly FIT screening.Design and settingA randomised, parallel group trial was performed in a primary care screening practice.MethodThe authors recruited 629 asymptomatic individuals aged 40–70 years with a negative FIT in 2015 to a population-based screening programme. On participation, they were invited to repeat their second round of FIT in 2016, 12 months after the first test. Each participant was randomly assigned to either interactive telephone reminder (n = 207), short message service reminder (SMS, n = 212), or control, where no additional interventions were delivered after the findings of their first FIT was communicated to the participants (n = 210). Reminders in the intervention groups were delivered 1 month before subjects’ expected return. Additional telephone reminders were delivered 2 months after the expected return date to all subjects who defaulted specimen return. The outcomes included rates of FIT collection and specimen return up to 6 months after their expected return.ResultsAt 6 months, the cumulative FIT collection rate was 95.1%, 90.4%, and 86.5%, respectively, for the telephone, SMS, and control groups (P = 0.010). The corresponding specimen return rate was 94.1%, 90.0%, and 86.0% (P = 0.022). When compared with the control, only subjects in the telephone group were significantly more likely to collect FIT tubes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.18, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.50 to 6.75, P = 0.003) and return completed specimens (AOR = 2.73, 95% CI = 1.35 to 5.53, P = 0.005).ConclusionInteractive telephone reminders are effective at securing previously screened subjects to repeat screening 1 year after a negative finding.

scholarly journals Assessing the challenges to women’s access and implementation of text messages for nutrition behaviour change in rural Tanzania

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Jessica D Rothstein ◽  
Rolf Klemm ◽  
Debora Niyeha ◽  
Erin Smith ◽  
Stella Nordhagen
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Text Messages ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Nutrition Intervention ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract Objective: This process evaluation aimed to understand factors affecting the implementation of a government-sponsored short message service (SMS) programme for delivering nutrition information to rural populations, including message access, acceptability and putting messages into action. Design: The study was nested within a larger randomised controlled trial. Cross-sectional data collection included structured surveys and in-depth interviews. Data were analysed for key trends and themes using Stata and ATLAS.ti software. Setting: The study took place in Tanzania’s Mtwara region. Participants: Surveys were conducted with 205 women and 93 men already enrolled in the randomised controlled trial. A sub-set of 30 women and 14 men participated in the in-depth interviews. Results: Among women relying on a spouse’s phone, sharing arrangements impeded regular SMS access; men were commonly away from home, forgot to share SMS or did not share them in women’s preferred way. Phone-owning women faced challenges related to charging their phones and defective handsets. Once SMS were delivered, most participants viewed them as trustworthy and comprehensible. However, economic conditions limited the feasibility of applying certain recommendations, such as feeding meat to toddlers. A sub-set of participants concurrently enrolled in an interpersonal counselling (IPC) intervention indicated that the SMS provided reminders of lessons learned during the IPC; yet, the SMS did not help participants contextualise information and overcome the challenges of putting that information into practice. Conclusions: The challenges to accessing and implementing SMS services highlighted here suggest that such platforms may work well as one component of a comprehensive nutrition intervention, yet not as an isolated effort.

Influence of short message service reminders on utilisation of focused antenatal care among women in rural Kenya: a randomised controlled trial

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Eliphas Gitonga ◽  
Jackim Nyamari ◽  
Peterson Warutere ◽  
Anthony Wanyoro
Keyword(s):  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Antenatal Care ◽  
Short Message Service ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Focused Antenatal Care ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Rural Kenya ◽  
Randomised Controlled ◽  
Antenatal Visits

Background/aims The short message service is a part of mobile health, which is defined as medical and public health practices that are supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, and other wireless devices. Mobile health has documented positive outcomes on other health services, including focused antenatal care. The focused antenatal care model emphasises quality of care rather than quantity of antenatal visits, and the World Health Organization recommends a minimum of four targeted antenatal visits. This study examines the influence of short message service reminders on utilisation of focused antenatal care in rural Kenya. Methods This was a randomised controlled trial with 118 respondents in each of two study arms, intervention and control, conducted in Tharaka Nithi, Kenya. The study group were pregnant women attending their first antenatal care visit in Tharaka sub-county health facilities. The intervention was three short message service reminders a week before the scheduled visit. Structured questionnaires were used to collect baseline and exit interviews. The chi-square test and logistic regression were used to check associations between uptake of antenatal care and participant characteristics at 5% significance level. Results Three quarters (75%) of the respondents in the intervention group completed the four targeted antenatal visits, whereas only 10% of respondents attended the required four visits in the control group. None of the sociodemographic variables were found to have any association or influence on focused antenatal care attendance. Short message reminders increased the chances of attending the recommended visits by 27 times (P<0.001). Conclusions Short message service reminders have a positive influence on utilisation of focused antenatal care. This research paper recommends that policymakers and health managers use short message service reminders to increase the uptake of focused antenatal care.

scholarly journals Effect of mobile telephone reminders on treatment outcome in HIV: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in India

BMJ ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 347 (aug06 2) ◽  
pp. g5978-g5978 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Shet ◽  
A. D. Costa ◽  
N. Kumarasamy ◽  
R. Rodrigues ◽  
B. B. Rewari ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Outcome ◽  
Randomised Controlled Trial ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Mobile Telephone ◽  
Telephone Reminders ◽  
Randomised Controlled
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