Trial reportPloS one2019
SMS nudges as a tool to reduce tuberculosis treatment delay and pretreatment loss to follow-up. A randomized controlled trial.
Trial report in PloS one, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Improving cascade outcomes for active TB: A global systematic review and meta-analysis of TB interventions.PLoS medicine · 2023Pooled it
- eHealth in TB clinical management.The international journal of tuberculosis and lung disease : the official journal of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease · 2022Pooled it
- Strategies to improve retention in randomised trials.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Trial
- Treatment initiation among tuberculosis patients: the role of short message service (SMS) technology and Ward-based outreach teams (WBOTs).BMC public health · 2022Trial
- Self-driven solutions and resilience adapted by people with drug-resistant tuberculosis and their caregivers in Bengaluru and Hyderabad, India: a qualitative study.The Lancet regional health. Southeast Asia · 2024Article
- Interventions and implementation considerations for reducing pre-treatment loss to follow-up in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis: A scoping review.F1000Research · 2024Article
- Applying behavioural economics principles to increase demand for free HIV testing services at private doctor-led clinics in Johannesburg, South Africa: A randomised controlled trial.PLOS global public health · 2024Article
- Factors contributing to pre-treatment loss to follow-up in adults with pulmonary tuberculosis: a qualitative evidence synthesis of patient and healthcare worker perspectives.Global health action · 2023Review
- The trial of sending short message service multidrug-resistant tuberculosis patients in Indonesia: the chance to increase knowledge and motivation.Journal of public health in Africa · 2023Article
- Early interactions with newly diagnosed TB patients in hospital can support linkage to care.Public health action · 2022Article
- Exploring Primary Care Clinicians' Views about How Best to Implement a Potential Trial around Point-of-Care Tests for Common Infections in South Africa.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2021Article
- Treatment delay in childhood pleural tuberculosis and associated factors.BMC infectious diseases · 2020Article
- Understanding pretreatment loss to follow-up of tuberculosis patients: an explanatory qualitative study in Chennai, India.BMJ global health · 2020Article
- Comparison of strategies for daily surveillance of international travellers quarantined in Vanuatu, October-December 2020.Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSARArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTB persists despite being relatively easy to detect and cure because the journey from the onset of symptoms to cure involves a series of steps, with patients being lost to follow-up at each stage and delays occurring among patients not lost to follow-up. One cause of drop-off and delay occurs when patients delay or avoid returning to clinic to get their test results and start treatment.
methodsWe fielded two SMS interventions in three Cape Town clinics to see their effects on whether people returned to clinic, and how quickly. One was a simple reminder; the other aimed to overcome "optimism bias" by reminding people TB is curable and many millions die unnecessarily from it. Recruits were randomly assigned at the clinic level to a control group or one of the two SMS groups (1:2:2). In addition to estimating effects on the full sample, we also estimated effects on HIV-positive patients.
resultsSMS recipients were more likely to return to clinic in the requested two days than the control group. The effect was smaller in the intent-to-treat analysis (52/101 or 51.5% vs. 251/405 or 62.0%, p = 0.05) than in the per-protocol analysis (50/97 or 51.5% vs. 204/318 or 64.2%, p = 0.03). The effect was larger among HIV-positives (10/35 or 28.6% vs. 97/149 or 65.1%, p<0.01). The effects of SMS messages diminished as the interval increased: significant effects at the 5% level were found at five and 10 days only among HIV-positives. The second SMS message had larger effects, albeit not significantly larger, likely due in part to lack of statistical power.
conclusionsAt 2 U.S. cents per message, SMS reminders are an inexpensive option to encourage TB testers to return to clinic, especially when worded to counter optimism bias.
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