Development of a text-messaging intervention to improve treatment adherence and post-treatment review of children with uncomplicated malaria in western Kenya

Article from the Malaria Journal

Results posted in PubMed: "The content of SMS messages underwent major revisions following the focus group discussions. Technical terms and abbreviations were replaced with simplified general terms. Message sign-off was modified to reflect the name of health facility, removing references to health workers. Day 3 post-treatment review visit reminder was modified to state the purpose of the visit while wording 'day 28' was added to the last post-treatment review visit reminder to help the caregiver recall the appointment date. The unscheduled visit prompt was modified to reflect flexibility and practicality of taking the child back to the facility if unwell. Reception of SMS reminders during the pilot was low with only 169/240 (70%) of scheduled messages delivered to the caregivers. The automated distribution system underwent major refinement and repeated testing following the pilot until effective delivery of all scheduled messages was achieved and sustained over a period of 3 months."