Text Messaging and Atopic Dermatitis

November 29, 2012 updated by: Amy Paller, Northwestern University

The Use of Text Messages to Improve Adherence to Health Maintenance Behaviors in Adolescents With Atopic Dermatitis

Atopic dermatitis is a common problem faced by patients of all ages and backgrounds. Treatment regimens and specific therapies may be time consuming and multiple studies have documented a parallel decrease in compliance as time after an office visit increases. The adolescent population is an extremely challenging sub-group of patients in terms of complying with a treatment regimen. Not only are they striving for independence and thus lacking supervision of a regimen by a parent, but their complex thinking skills are immature, leading to forgetful behavior. By introducing a reminder system for these vulnerable patients that is easily incorporated into their daily lives, the investigators propose that patients will have better compliance at applying their medication and thus improving their atopic dermatitis. Text-messaging via cell phones has become very popular among teenagers and adults and provides a non-obtrusive method of sending a treatment reminder.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

We propose to conduct a randomized, controlled 6-week trial to evaluate the impact of a text message-based reminder program on adherence to health maintenance behaviors among adolescents diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis. After obtaining informed consent, subjects will be randomized into either an intervention or control group. Subjects in the intervention group will receive a daily text message with a tailored message regarding atopic dermatitis, while control group subjects will receive a weekly text message with information on local weather, sport or news without any reference to atopic dermatitis. Of note, the decision to send a weekly text message to the control group reflects the expectation that a message will be sent, although the frequency and content of the message will not be revealed.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
26

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Illinois
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60614
        • Children's Memorial Hospital
      • Chicago, Illinois, United States, 60611
        • Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Dermatology

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

10 years to 17 years (Child)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age 10-17 inclusive
  • Capable of giving informed consent/assent. Of note, all subjects will sign an assent form and parents will sign a parent consent form.
  • Diagnosed with Atopic Dermatitis by a physician (self report)
  • IGA score fo 2 or greater
  • Currently using at least one prescribed topical therapy for atopic dermatitis
  • Have a mobile phone capable of receiving text messages
  • Able to retrieve text messages from mobile phone
  • Able to adhere to study visit schedule and other protocol requirements.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Younger than 10 years of age or 18 years and older at the time of enrollment
  • No diagnosis of atopic dermatitis by a physician
  • IGA score of 0 or 1
  • Currently on no prescribed topical treatment for atopic dermatitis
  • UV therapy or climatotherapy is a part of treatment for atopic dermatitis
  • Does not have a mobile phone capable of receiving text messages
  • Unable to retrieve text message
  • Non-English speaking individuals (text messages are in English)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention group
Subjects will receive daily text message reminder about their treatment for atopic dermatitis during the 6 weeks of the study.
Procedure: Text message to cell phone
Subjects will receive a daily text message reminder about their treatment for atopic dermatitis during the 6 weeks of the study
No Intervention: Control Group
Subjects will receive a weekly text message reminder about pop-culture, sports or weather.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in self reported medication adherence
Time Frame: 6 weeks
We will assess the difference in number of missed doses of topical medication in the control group (weekly unrelated text message) and the intervention group (daily eczema-related text message group). All subjects will record missed doses via calendars (diaries). Those in the intervention group will be able to text on a weekly basis the number of days they forgot their medication that week.
6 weeks
Change in quality of life
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Change in AD knowledge score
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks
Change in health maintenance behaviors
Time Frame: 6 weeks
6 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Northwestern University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
June 1, 2012

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
June 1, 2012

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
October 4, 2010

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 5, 2010

First Posted (Estimate)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
October 7, 2010

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
December 3, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
November 29, 2012

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • STU29486

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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