A randomized blinded controlled trial of mobile phone reminders on the follow-up medical care of HIV-exposed and HIV-infected children in Cameroon: study protocol (MORE CARE)
Open accessAbstract
BACKGROUND: In Cameroon, only two-thirds of children with HIV exposure or infection receive appropriate HIV-directed medical care. Mortality, antiretroviral therapy resistance and suboptimal virological response are strongly related to missed opportunities for treatment, and, more specifically, to skipped scheduled medical appointments. The present trial, MORE CARE (Mobile Reminders for Cameroonian Children Requiring HIV Care) seeks to determine if reminders sent by text message (SMS), phone call, or concomitant SMS and phone calls most increase the presence at medical appointments of HIV-infected or -exposed children (efficacy), and which is the most efficient related to working time and financial cost (efficiency). METHODS/DESIGN: We will carry out a multicenter single-blind, randomized, factorial controlled trial. A randomization list will be electronically generated using random block sizes. Central allocation will be determined by sequentially numbered. A total of 224 subjects will be randomized into four groups (SMS, Call, SMS + Call, and Control) with an allocation ratio of 1:1:1:1. SMS and calls will be sent between 48 and 72 hours before the scheduled appointment. A medical assistant will send out text messages and will call participants. Our primary outcome is appointment measured by efficacy and efficiency of interventions. We hypothesize that two reminders (concomitant use of SMS and phone calls) as an appointment reminder is more effective to improve appointment compared to one reminder (only SMS or only call), and that the most efficient is use of only SMS. The analysis will be intention to treat. DISCUSSION: This trial investigates the potential of SMS and phone calls as motivational reminders to improve children's adherence to medical appointments for HIV-related care in Cameroon. The intervention will act to end missed appointment due to forgetfulness. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Pan African Clinical Trials Registry: PACTR201304000528276.
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Infectious diseases and chronic diseases were the second most prevalent health outcomes, each with a frequency of 8 of 30 articles (27%).
“Infectious diseases and chronic diseases were the second most prevalent health outcomes, with a frequency of each of 8 of 30 (27%) articles [36,39-44,49-51].”
From Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
SMS with or without phone calls and voice messages was the second highest, with a frequency of 4 of 26 interventions (15%).
“SMS with or without phone calls and voice messages was the second highest with a frequency of 4 of 26 interventions (15%) [22,32,39,53].”
From Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
Training on the use of devices such as cell phones and mobile apps, and on sharing and receiving text messages, will improve performance and increase the acceptability of mHealth within the community.
“Training on the use of devices, such as cell phones and mobile apps, and on sharing and receiving text messages will not only improve the performance but also increase the acceptability of mHealth within the community [39,46].”
From Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
SMS reminders improve appointment attendance.
“SMS reminders also improve appointment attendance and SMS text messaging helps health care providers prescribe medicine on a timely basis, consequently improving patient care [32,39].”
From Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
SMS text messaging helps health care providers prescribe medicine on a timely basis, consequently improving patient care.
“SMS reminders also improve appointment attendance and SMS text messaging helps health care providers prescribe medicine on a timely basis, consequently improving patient care [32,39].”
From Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review (2019) · cites this paper as [39]
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References 28 · Cited by 13
- Authors
- Bigna, J. J. R., Kouanfack, C., Noubiap, J. J. N., Plottel, C. S., & Koulla-Shiro, S.
- Affiliations
- Université de Yaoundé I (CM)
- NYU Langone Health (US)
- Venue
- Trials
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 14
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 313
- ISSN
- 1745-6215 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3849485
- OpenAlex
- W2113920021
- Cited by
- 13
- References
- 28
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 4 · 2015: 2 · 2014: 3
- FWCI
- 3.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Trials (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Infectious Diseases › HIV/AIDS Research and Interventions
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › Emergency Medical Services › Healthcare Operations and Scheduling Optimization
- Keywords
- mobile phone reminders, appointment reminders, missed appointments, HIV-exposed children, HIV-infected children, pediatric HIV care, SMS reminders, phone call reminders, antiretroviral therapy adherence, cost-effectiveness, Cameroon
- MeSH terms
- Appointments and Schedules, Cameroon, Cost-Benefit Analysis, Developing Countries, Humans, Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice, Memory, Motivation, Patient Compliance, Research Design, Time Factors, HIV Infections, Single-Blind Method, Treatment Outcome, Reminder Systems, Health Care Costs, Cell Phone, Text Messaging
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