NCT03580330

Use of Low-cost mHealth Intervention to Enhance Outcomes of Noncommunicable Diseases Care in Rural and Refugee Settings

Could Low-Cost Mobile Health Interventions Make a Difference?:Enhancing Outcomes of Noncommunicable Diseases Care in Rural Settings and Refugee Camps

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 2,359 (actual)
• Sponsor: American University of Beirut Medical Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 40 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

Rural areas and refugee camps are characterized by poor access of patients to needed noncommunicable disease (NCD)-related health services, including diabetes and hypertension. This community trial study aims to assess the effect of employing low-cost mHealth tools on the accessibility to health services and improvement of health indicators of individuals with NCDs in rural areas and refugee camps in Lebanon.

Detailed description

Rural areas and refugee camps are characterized by poor access of patients to needed noncommunicable disease (NCD)-related health services, including diabetes and hypertension. Employing low-cost innovative eHealth interventions, such as mobile health (mHealth), may help improve NCDs prevention and control among disadvantaged populations. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of employing low-cost mHealth tools on the accessibility to health services and improvement of health indicators of individuals with NCDs in rural areas and refugee camps in Lebanon. This is a community trial study in which centers were allocated randomly into control and intervention sites. The effect of an employed mHealth intervention is assessed through selected quality indicators examined in both control and intervention groups. Sixteen primary health care centers (eight controls, eight interventions) located in rural areas and Palestinian refugee camps across Lebanon were included in this study. Data on diabetic and hypertensive patients-1433 in the intervention group and 926 in the control group-was extracted from patient files in the pre and postintervention periods. The intervention entailed weekly short message service messages, including medical information, importance of compliance, and reminders of appointments or regular physician follow-up. Internationally established care indicators were utilized in this study.

Conditions

• Diabetes Mellitus
• Hypertension

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	mHealth intervention	Individual in the intervention group receive a weekly educational health SMS for the intervention period of 1 year. SMS content covered different health themes providing health information on lifestyle, dietary habits, body weight, smoking, medications, importance of compliance, as well as symptoms and self-management of HTN and diabetes. Community individuals who were diagnosed and were receiving necessary care previous to the investigator's intervention were sent weekly informative health SMS, as well as customized SMSs reminders to follow up on their scheduled medical appointments (eg, to check their HbA1c levels and have their annual foot or eye exams).

Timeline

• Start date: 2014-04-17
• Primary completion: 2018-04-01
• Completion: 2018-04-01
• First posted: 2018-07-09
• Last updated: 2018-07-09