Text Messaging Intervention to Improve ART Adherence Among HIV-positive Youth (TXTXT)

November 12, 2021 updated by: Robert Garofalo, MD, Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
The purpose of the proposed study is to test SMS (short message service) text messaging technology to improve medication adherence among youth living with HIV (YLH). The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial of the effect of text message reminders on ART (anti-retroviral therapy) adherence among non-adherent YLH. Daily text message reminders will be sent to patients randomized to the intervention group according to their medication schedule, for 6 months. The investigators will enroll non-adherent YLH, ages 16-29. Half of the sample, randomized to the intervention, will receive daily SMS text message medication reminders and half will be randomized to the control condition and receive standard of care (SOC) only. For the controlled trial, adherence levels and viral load will be collected at baseline, 3-month and 6-month follow-up. In addition, at the end of the initial 6-month enrollment period, participants in the control condition will cross-over to the SMS intervention and participants in the intervention condition will cease to receive the SMS intervention. Adherence and viral load data will be collected from each group at 9- and 12-month follow-up points. The investigators hypothesize that youth in the intervention condition will demonstrate a clinically meaningful increase in adherence at 3 and 6 months post-baseline, from approximately 70% to 90% adherence to ART.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The purpose of the proposed study is to test an intervention using SMS text messaging technology to improve medication adherence among YLH. The proposed study is a randomized controlled trial of the effect of text message reminders on ART adherence rates among non-adherent YLH. Daily text message reminders will be sent to all patients randomized to the intervention group according to their medication schedule, for six months. Participants will have the option to choose a tailored personalized message that may be changed as requested throughout the study period. The investigators will enroll YLH, ages 16-29 (i.e., perinatally, transfusion, or behaviorally acquired -- consistent with our feasibility study and the distribution of infection mode in the primary clinic sites) who have demonstrated poor adherence to ART. Half of the sample, randomized to the intervention, will receive daily short message service (SMS; aka "text message") medication reminders and half will be randomized to the control condition and receive standard of care (SOC) only. For the controlled trial, adherence levels and viral load will be collected at baseline, 3-month and 6-month follow-up. In addition, at the end of the initial 6-month enrollment period, participants in the control condition will cross-over to the SMS intervention for 6 months and participants in the intervention condition will cease to receive the SMS intervention. Adherence and viral load data will be collected from each group at the 9-month and 12-month follow-up points. The advantages of these additional features are that they allow the investigators to offer the intervention to all participants, to evaluate the intervention effect in the control group (to confirm the intervention effect) and to assess sustained intervention effects in the intervention group (post-intervention). Specific Aims:

  1. To determine the efficacy of an SMS text messaging intervention on our primary outcome: adherence to ART among poorly adherent YLH, ages 16-29 (a group shown to be at high risk for substance use) over a 6-month intervention period, with effects assessed at 3 and 6-months post-baseline.
  2. To explore the efficacy of an SMS text messaging intervention on a secondary, exploratory outcome: viral load and cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) counts, over a 6-month intervention period, with effects assessed at 3 and 6-months post-baseline.
  3. To assess the feasibility, acceptability, and satisfaction of this intervention and clinical trial approach by both objective (e.g., automated message delivery and response counts) and subjective measures (e.g., reported satisfaction, acceptability).

Primary Hypotheses:

  1. Youth randomized to the SMS text messaging intervention will show greater improvements in levels of adherence to ART and secondary outcomes during the intervention period at 3 and 6 months post-baseline, in comparison to those receiving standard of care only. The investigators hypothesize at least a 10-point difference in adherence level between groups at 3 and 6 months for the intervention to be clinically meaningful.
  2. Youth randomized to SMS text messaging intervention will maintain improvements in adherence (i.e., > 90% adherence) at 9-month and 12-month follow-ups.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

110

Phase

  • 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, 60611
        • Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital

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

Ages Eligible for Study

16 years to 29 years (Child, Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Diagnosed with HIV infection (perinatally, transfusion, or behaviorally acquired; documented by medical record review or verification from referring professional)
  • Have cell phone access
  • Report regular use of text messaging technology
  • 16 to 29 years old
  • English-speaking
  • On an ART regimen for at least one month at the time of enrollment (i.e., not new to ART) with poor adherence to their antiretroviral regimen. For the purposes of this study, poor adherence will be defined at screening by one or more of the following: a) per the AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG) screening questionnaire, participant reports missing at least one dose in the last week or b) reports missing more than 3 medication doses in the last month.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Do not report regular follow-up with their physician (at least every 3 months)
  • Pregnant and on ART only due to pregnancy (i.e., will no longer be prescribed ART after delivery)
  • Unable to provide assent or consent.

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: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard of care only
The SOC for ART adherence consists of viewing a 20-minute animated tutorial which explains the importance of adherence to antiretroviral medication. It is specifically designed for viewers who have no science background and is appropriate for adolescents and young adults.
Experimental: Intervention
This study will test a tailored, personalized SMS Text Message Reminder intervention to improve adherence to ART among non-adherent YLH. Participants will use their own cell phones for receipt of the intervention. Participants will have the option to choose a tailored personalized message that may be changed as requested throughout the study period (six months). Taking advantage of the Intelecare technology, participants will be asked to send a text message response indicating that that have successfully (or not) taken their meds per schedule. No identifying patient information will be included in the SMS text to protect patient confidentiality.
Behavioral: SMS Text Message Reminder
Daily

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Adherence to ART via report on visual analogue scale
Time Frame: prior 30 days
Adherence to ART via report on visual analogue scale
prior 30 days

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Viral load
Time Frame: 3-month
The most recent viral load data will be abstracted from medical records at each time point in RNA copies per milliliter of blood plasma. In addition, as a secondary measure of disease status, CD4 count will also be recorded at each time point in CD4 cells per milliliter of blood.
3-month

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Ann & Robert H Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago

Collaborators

National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

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

October 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2013

Study Completion (Actual)

February 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

May 13, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

May 13, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

May 16, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

November 15, 2021

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 12, 2021

Last Verified

November 1, 2021

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R34DA031053 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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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