"World Health Organization guidelines for treatment of tuberculosis (TB) call for directly observed treatment (DOT) to monitor patient medication adherence (WHO, 2008; Frieden & Sbarbaro, 2007). DOT poses numerous structural barriers for both healthcare workers and patients. The purpose of this pilot study was to assess feasibility and acceptability among healthcare workers and patients in using video-enabled mobile telephones to monitor patient adherence to TB medication, as well as to assess patient response to having both text and video health messages sent to them via the mobile phone.

Mobile telephones capable of sending and receiving video and text messages were provided to 13 patients diagnosed with TB. Patients and their assistants (relatives or friends in the home) were asked to video-capture the patient taking his or her dose of TB medications with the mobile phone. The video was then immediately transmitted to a central database where healthcare workers viewed the video of patients taking their medications as prescribed by DOT protocol. Patients also received health messages including video and text on their mobile phones. These messages included vignettes portraying recovered patients, testimonials from physicians, and TB prevention messages. Patients, patient assistants, and healthcare workers completed a brief questionnaire regarding their experiences at intake, 15 days, and 1 month post-intake. Participants rated their experiences in topic areas such as comfort levels with being videotaped, acceptability of receiving messages, types of messages most helpful, and technical issues with sending or receiving messages.

Results showed that overwhelmingly, all participants were extremely satisfied with the study procedures and technology with a mean overall rating of 4.6 on a 5-point Likert scale, with 1 being "Awful" and 5 being "Great." This pilot study demonstrated technical feasibility of mobile technology as a viable means of remotely monitoring medication adherence for patients with TB. In addition, the study indicated positive acceptance by both patients and healthcare workers of using this technology for remote medication monitoring, health education, and communication. Further research is needed to assess the impact of this technology on medication adherence rates, as well as cost-effectiveness of implementing this technology on a wider scale to more patients as well as for other types of diseases."

Source: Hoffman, J., 2009. Danya International.