Previous studies conducted in Africa and elsewhere have demonstrated that text messaging or cellphone call medication reminders significantly improve the adherence of patients on ART. Reminders in the form of text messages, alarm tones, calls to landlines or cellphones may help patients meet their healthcare appointments and remember to take their medications accordingly. alarms, pagers, and telephones could supplement adherence support strategies. Hence, communication devices which act as a reminding tool e.g. Forgetfulness is the main reason for missing healthcare appointments and ART doses.
Missing healthcare appointments could be a consequence of inefficient healthcare delivery, with ample expenses for the health system, leading to delays in diagnosis and treatment. The prevalence of non-adherence to ART in Ethiopia was revealed to be high (17.3 %) in a study done in Felegehiwot Hospital and University of Gondar Hospital. Patients who used medication reminders were less likely to develop resistance. A cumulative adherence of 70–89 % was strongly associated with viral rebound and clinically significant resistance, when compared with cumulative adherence of 90 %. Non-adherence to ART and forgetting to take medications are strongly associated with virologic rebound and clinically significant resistance. Īccording to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 50 % of all medicines are prescribed, dispensed or sold inappropriately, and half of all patients fail to take medicines correctly. Once the treatment has started the patient needs to strictly adhere (optimal adherence, 95 %) to it throughout his/her entire lifetime to maintain the functionality of the immune system of the individual and to control the emergence of drug resistant strains. This combination of drugs has fundamentally transformed the lives of People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection has changed from a serious and deadly illness to a more easily manageable disease. Since the introduction of Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) in developed nations during the mid-1990s, access to ART has become more widely available. Age, educational status and using internet were the main factors that are significantly associated with the willingness of patients to receive text message medication reminders. ConclusionsĪ high proportion of respondents have a cell phone and are willing to use it as medication reminders. Positively associated factors to the willingness were the following: Younger age group (AOR = 5.18, 95 % CI: ), having secondary or higher education (AOR = 4.61, 95 % CI: ), using internet (AOR = 3.94, 95 % CI: ), not disclosing HIV status to anyone other than HCP (Health Care Provider) (AOR = 3.03, 95 % CI: ), availability of radio in dwelling (AOR = 2.74 95 % CI: ), not answering unknown calls (AOR = 2.67, 95 % CI: ), use of cellphone alarm as medication reminder (AOR = 2.22, 95%CI ), and forgetting to take medications (AOR = 2.13, 95 % CI: ). The majority of respondents 316 (76.1 %) owned a cellphone, and 161(50.9 %) were willing to receive text message medication reminders. ResultsĪ total of 415 (98 % response rate) respondents participated in the interview. Descriptive statistics and multivariable logistic regression analysis were used to describe the characteristic of the sample and identify factors associated with the willingness to receive text message medication reminders. Data entry and analysis were done using Epi-Info version 7 and SPSS version 20 respectively. Data were collected using structured interviewer-administered questionnaires.
MethodsĪn institution based cross sectional quantitative study was conducted among 423 patients on ART during April 2014. The aim of this study is to measure access to cellphones, willingness to receive text message medication reminders and to identify associated factors of ART patients at the University of Gondar Hospital, in North West Ethiopia.
Therefore using communication devices as reminder tools, for example alarms, pagers, text messages and telephone calls could improve adherence to ART. Studies have shown that the most frequently mentioned reason for missing ART doses is the forgetfulness of patients to take their medications on time. Non-adherence to Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) is strongly associated with virologic rebound and drug resistance.
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