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Mobile Phone Text Messaging Referral

NCT ID: NCT01746758

Last Updated: 2012-12-11

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

UNKNOWN

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

700 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2012-08-31

Study Completion Date

2014-01-31

Brief Summary

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The study hypothesis is that managed referral of patients at community level (from drug stores) increases uptake of reproductive health (RH) services at dispensary and health centre levels.

The intervention is currently being implemented in 2 districts (Magu and Sengerema) in Mwanza Region on the northwest shore of Lake Victoria. It is nested within the IntHEC Community Randomised Trial which aims to evaluate the impact of a complex RH intervention on the uptake and integration of reproductive health services in 2 Regions in Tanzania (Mwanza and Iringa) and Niger (Say and Aguie) respectively. 18 wards per region were stratified according to geographical and economic criteria and randomly assigned to intervention or comparison wards. The SMS intervention is being implemented in 9 intervention wards in Mwanza Region only. 9 wards are followed for comparison.

Detailed Description

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The SMS intervention was developed in 2 phases: (i) stakeholder consultation and (ii) technical design. Twenty-three consultation meetings were held with 78 drug store owners and attendants, 45 dispensary and health centre clinical officers and nurses, and 148 adolescents in communities. These stakeholders prioritised key deficiencies in existing RH provision and preferred strategies to address them. Detailed methods and results of these consultations are presented elsewhere (Consultation Paper in preparation). In brief government health facilities wanted an intervention that allows dispensaries and health centres to take charge of STI treatment and provide skilled service for other RH needs. Drug stores wanted an intervention that recognises and integrates their contribution to the health system, while adolescents wanted an intervention that promotes accessibility, confidentiality and trust of service providers. Through subsequent meetings, an SMS intervention strategy was identified because all clinical officers and drug store attendants demonstrated use mobile phones on a day-to-day basis.

The intervention design prioritised patients' ease of access to service: when a patient comes to a drug store to buy medicines for a RH related problem that may require a prescription drug, the drug store explains the referral system. If the patient accepts, the drug store sends a text message with the patient details to a toll-free number connected to a web-system. The system processes and forwards the patient details including a password to a dispensary matched with the referrer drug store. At the same time, that password is sent back to the referrer drug store so that it can be passed on to the patient. While at dispensary, patients with a password are received, matched with details received in text messages, and given fast track RH service, after which the dispensary sends a text message to the toll-free number confirming the completeness of patient treatment. This intervention is implemented in all 9 intervention wards in Mwanza. No intervention is implemented in the 9 comparison wards.

Conditions

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HIV Sexually Transmitted Infections Contraception Pregnancy

Keywords

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Reproductive health, mHealth, Cluster randomised trial

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

PARALLEL

Primary Study Purpose

HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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SMS text messaging referral

The text messaging system has been designed to use codes of reproductive health conditions and their treatments. Text messages are sent by drug stores and received at the dispensaries, forwarded by a bespoke software called Snapshot, which captures data online from any computer anywhere by use of a login for confidentiality.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

SMS text messaging referral

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

The text messaging system has been designed to use codes of reproductive health conditions and their treatments. Text messages are sent by drug stores and received at the dispensaries, forwarded by a bespoke software called Snapshot, which captures data online from any computer anywhere by use of a login for confidentiality.

Comparison arm

No intervention will be implemented in intervention arm. Data on reproductive health conditions and treatments and data on referrals from drug stores in this arm will be obtained directly from ministry of health registers filled and filed at the dispensary and health centres, plus a tailor-made form which is filled by the dispensary and health centre clinicians whenever they receive a patient in the eligible categories.

Group Type NO_INTERVENTION

No interventions assigned to this group

Interventions

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SMS text messaging referral

The text messaging system has been designed to use codes of reproductive health conditions and their treatments. Text messages are sent by drug stores and received at the dispensaries, forwarded by a bespoke software called Snapshot, which captures data online from any computer anywhere by use of a login for confidentiality.

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

Only patients attending services at the drug store. Only patients seeking reproductive health care services. Only resident in study wards.

Exclusion Criteria

Patients non-residence in study wards. Patients seeking non-reproductive health care services.

The primary and secondary outcomes will be measured in people aged 15-19 (our definition of adolescent), but the intervention accepts all age-groups during implementation.
Minimum Eligible Age

15 Years

Maximum Eligible Age

19 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sponsors

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National Institute for Medical Research, Tanzania

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Tanzania

OTHER_GOV

Sponsor Role collaborator

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Responsibility Role SPONSOR

Principal Investigators

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John N Dusabe, MSc BSc

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Angela IN Obasi, MSc PhD MRCP

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine

Locations

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National Institute for Medical Research Tanzania

Mwanza, , Tanzania

Site Status RECRUITING

Countries

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Tanzania

Central Contacts

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John N Dusabe, MSc BSc

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +44 151 705 3247

Email: [email protected]

Kerry Millington, PhD BSc

Role: CONTACT

Phone: +44 151 705 2583

Email: [email protected]

Facility Contacts

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John Changalucha, MPhil

Role: primary

Other Identifiers

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11.94RS

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id