Preserving ACTs - Text Reminders to Increase Adherence to ACT Treatment (PACT)

President and Fellows of Harvard College

Status: Completed

Conditions: Malaria

Treatments: Behavioral: Text message reminders

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT01722734

19850-101

Details and patient eligibility

About

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of text reminders sent to ACT users through an automated text messaging system short-message-system.

Study hypothesis: text message reminders increase adherence

Full description

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness of text reminders sent to ACT users through an automated text messaging system short-message-system. Patients were enrolled at clinics and pharmacies upon receipt of ACTs and enrolled in the automated system for 3 days.

Enrollment: 1,140 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

-subjects acquiring ACTs in Tamale, Ghana

Exclusion criteria

• subjects acquiring ACTs for non household members
• subjects under the age of 18
• subjects without access to cell phones
• subjects living more than 30 minutes from pickup location

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

---

1,140 participants in 3 patient groups

Control

No Intervention group

Description:

Patients in the control arm only got a generic health message at the end of the study.

Short Message

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients in this arm receive six short text message reminders within 60 hours of treatment initiation at 12 hour intervals.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Text message reminders

Long message

Active Comparator group

Description:

Patients in this arm receive six long text message reminders (reminders including justification for why patients should finish medication) within 60 hours of treatment initiation at 12 hour intervals.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Text message reminders