Using Mobile Phones to Improve Clinic Attendance Amongst an Antiretroviral Treatment Cohort in Rural Uganda: A Cross-sectional and Prospective Study
| Autor: | Simon Muchuro, Setor K Kunutsor, John Walley, Elizabeth Namagala, Elly Katabira, Hudson Balidawa, Eric Ikoona |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2010 |
| Předmět: |
Adult
Male Rural Population medicine.medical_specialty Outpatient Clinics Hospital Adolescent Social Psychology Anti-HIV Agents Cross-sectional study Reminder Systems Population HIV Infections Appointments and Schedules Young Adult Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) Surveys and Questionnaires Outpatients medicine Humans Outpatient clinic Uganda Prospective Studies education Psychiatry education.field_of_study business.industry Public Health Environmental and Occupational Health Attendance Middle Aged medicine.disease Cross-Sectional Studies Infectious Diseases Socioeconomic Factors Mobile phone Cohort Patient Compliance Female Medical emergency Rural area business Cell Phone |
| Zdroj: | AIDS and Behavior. 14:1347-1352 |
| ISSN: | 1573-3254 1090-7165 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s10461-010-9780-2 |
| Popis: | We aimed to assess the patterns and dynamics of mobile phone usage amongst an antiretroviral treatment (ART) cohort in rural Uganda and ascertain its feasibility for improving clinic attendance. A cross-sectional study of clients on ART exploring their access to mobile phones and patterns of use was employed. Clinic attendances for antiretroviral drug refills were then monitored prospectively over 28 weeks in 176 patients identified in the cross-sectional survey who had access to mobile phones and had given consent to be contacted. Patients were contacted via voice calls or text messages to remind them about their missed clinic appointments. Of the 276 patients surveyed, 177 (64%) had access to mobile phones with all but one were willing to be contacted for missed visits reminders. Of the 560 total scheduled clinic appointments, 62 (11%) were missed visits. In 79% of episodes in which visits were missed, patients presented for treatment within a mean duration of 2.2 days (SD = 1.2 days) after mobile phone recall. Access to mobile phones was high in this setting. Privacy and confidentiality issues were not considered deterrents. Mobile phones have a potential for use in resource-constrained settings to substantially improve the clinical management of HIV/AIDS. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
|
Full text from SpringerLink