From the AHRQ summary page: This project, one of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Accelerating Change and Transformation in Organizations and Networks (ACTION) contracts, developed, implemented, and evaluated a short message service (SMS) intervention. The intervention targeted HIV-positive men who have sex with men (MSM) and who were at least 25-years-old. The aim of the messages was to: improve adherence to medication regimens; improve attendance at appointments; reduce risk-taking behaviors; enhance social support, general health and well-being; and increase involvement of individuals with their health care.
Objectives from the AHRQ summary: The main objectives of the project were to:
- Conduct a thorough review of existing literature, paying close attention to work that has been completed on innovative uses of text messaging in health communication strategies.
- Develop and implement an SMS-based intervention to improve health care quality and outcomes by providing tailored health communication messages to HIV-positive patients who are treated in ambulatory care settings.
- Conduct a process evaluation on implementation and determine the feasibility and potential for implementing the intervention in other ambulatory care settings.
- Conduct an outcome evaluation that focuses on patient satisfaction and the impact of the intervention on targeted knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, intentions and behaviors, health care quality, and outcomes measures.
mFHAST implication: Messaging targeting special (protected class) populations can be done