Evaluation of SMS reminder messages for altering treatment adherence and health seeking perceptions among malaria care-seekers in Nigeria.

An article published in the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)

Evaluation of SMS reminder messages for altering treatment adherence and health seeking perceptions among malaria care-seekers in Nigeria.
From the article abstract: 

Results corroborate previous findings that a basic SMS reminder increased treatment adherence [odds ratio (OR) = 1.53, 95% CI 0.96-2.44] and decreased use of unnecessary anti-malarials for RDT-negative adults [OR = 0.63, 95% CI 0.39-1.00]. The expanded SMS also increased adherence for adults [OR = 1.42, 95% CI 0.97-2.07], but the effects for sick children differed-the basic SMS did not have any measurable impact on treatment adherence [OR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.24-3.09] or use of unnecessary anti-malarials [OR = 1.27, 95% CI 0.32-1.93], and the expanded SMS actually led to poorer treatment adherence [OR = 0.26, 95% CI 0.10-0.66] and increased use of unnecessary anti-malarials [OR = 4.67, 95% CI 1.76-12.43]. Further, the targeted but neutral message in the expanded SMS lowered acceptance for drug retailers' administration of RDTs [OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.10-2.93], counter to what we hypothesized. Future SMS interventions should show consistent positive results across populations and be attuned to message length and content before initiating a larger messaging campaign.


Study RegionU.S.
OrganizationDepartment of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco
Issue or ProblemBoost treatment adherence to RDT for Malaria
Tech MediumSMS
Technology DeviceSmartPhone
mFHAST ImplicationOpportunity to use short message service (SMS) as reminder messages to boost treatment adherence to RDT.
Print
Categories: Public Health
Rate this article:
No rating
Please login or register to post comments.