Re-Aiming at Hydroxyurea Adherence for Sickle Cell With mHealth

National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend that hydroxyurea be offered to symptomatic adults and all children with sickle cell disease (SCD) (HbSS and HbSβ0-thal genotypes) age ≥9 months. Research has shown that hydroxyurea reduces hospitalizations and mortality, supporting its effectiveness outside of clinical trials. Hydroxyurea is given as a once-daily oral dose that costs <$1 per day. Despite overwhelming evidence for positive effects, hydroxyurea is vastly underutilized. Given the relative ease of its administration, low cost, and safety profile, barriers to hydroxyurea utilization are primarily constrained to the health system and patient determinants. System-level barriers include insufficient access to SCD-specific care, limited access to medication (due to lack of health coverage), and providers' reluctance in prescribing it; while patient-level barriers include low acceptance (due to insufficient knowledge or misconceptions regarding risks and benefits), and forgetfulness leading to poor adherence.

Mobile health (mHealth) refers to the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. Short message service (SMS) text messaging (through cell phones) is a widespread means of communication, particularly among adolescents and young adults and is an emerging intervention modality to improve medication adherence. Its low cost, simplicity, and prevalence allow for relatively easy adoption and dissemination in medical practices.

This protocol seeks to examine barriers to hydroxyurea adherence among SCD patients between 15 and 45 years of age who are living in the Memphis region by conducting a needs assessment. In addition to examining these barriers, the needs assessment will provide data that will inform the development of an mHealth application (e.g. mobile phone application) for assisting patients in increasing their medication adherence. The developed mHealth intervention will then undergo a pilot trial to test its acceptability, satisfaction, and feasibility among 56 patients living with SCD.

• To conduct multi-level needs assessment of hydroxyurea utilization barriers and facilitators, in Memphis, Tennessee (Phase I).
• To test the feasibility and acceptance of a patient-informed smart phone application aimed at improving hydroxyurea adherence in the Memphis, Tennessee region, and to estimate the efficacy parameters needed to design a definitive large phase III trial (Phase II).

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Sickle Cell Disease

Detailed Description

Data for the needs assessment and pilot trial will be collected from the patients via validated surveys, qualitative methods (e.g., interviews and focus groups), and medical record abstraction.

The study will utilize a Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation design that will blend both a new intervention to impact the effectiveness of hydroxyurea, text messaging, and study its potential for adoption and dissemination in "real-world" practice settings. In Phase I (formative process evaluation), actionable barriers of hydroxyurea adherence in Memphis, Tennessee, will be identified. The investigators will begin by conducting a broad evaluation of hydroxyurea utilization, impediments and facilitators of hydroxyurea adherence and care management in general for patients with SCD. Next, this information will be merged with patients' preferences for the content of an mHealth intervention, and test it in a local cohort (Phase II). If successful and approved by the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC) executive committee, this intervention will advance to the next phase, namely, the dissemination and implementation in a larger geographical area (the other SCDIC participating sites in Phase III). We will utilize the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the intervention representativeness and impact during all phases.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 100

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Tennessee
    • Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38105
      • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
    • Memphis, Tennessee, United States, 38120
      • Baptist Memorial Hospital, Baptist Clinical Research Institute

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 15 years to 44 years (Child, Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Participants will reside in the Memphis, Tennessee, area and meet the inclusion criteria.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Diagnosis of sickle cell disease (any genotype)
• Between the ages of 15 and 44.9 years
• English-speaking

Exclusion Criteria:

• Inability or unwillingness of research participant or legal guardian/representative to give written informed consent

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Phase I; It is estimated that 100 participants with SCD will be enrolled for the Phase I portion which will identify barriers to hydroxyurea utilization.
Phase II; It is estimated that 72 participants with SCD will be enrolled for the Phase II portion of the study which will evaluate the degree of feasibility and acceptance of mHealth intervention on hydroxyurea adherence.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Compare the number of patients with hydroxyurea barriers or facilitators in hydroxyurea maintenance users and hydroxyurea former users/non-users (Phase I)	Multi-level needs assessment of hydroxyurea utilization barriers and facilitators, in Memphis, Tennessee, will be conducted to identify potential factors that affect the barriers or facilitators of hydroxyurea acceptance and that affect the adherence/maintenance of hydroxyurea. Enrollment for Phase I is estimated to be 100. The numbers of patients with barriers or facilitators in hydroxyurea maintenance users and hydroxyurea former users/non-users will be provided and will be compared using Fisher's exact text. This will be done via questionnaires with individuals living with sickle cell disease.	From on-study date up to 12 months later
Number of participants who are enrolled and randomized on the study (Phase II)	In terms of feasibility of enrollment and randomization, that is, we will assess if we can enroll and randomize 40% (versus an unacceptable rate of 30%) of the approached eligible individuals (56 patients out of 150 approached) in the 24-month accrual duration.	From study start date through up to 24 months later
Number of randomized patients completing baseline and 24-week evaluations for both arms	In terms of the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial, that is, after randomization, per each arm, we will assess if we can have 75% (versus an unacceptable rate of 50%) of randomized individuals (19 patients out of 28 randomized per arm) will complete at least baseline and 24-week evaluations.	From on-study date up to 24 weeks later
Compare the number of participants who report themHealth intervention is useful	Measure the patients' perceived usefulness of mHealth intervention as an aid to hydroxyurea adherence. The proportions of patients who reported the mHealth intervention is useful at weeks 12 and 24 will be provided and will be tested to see if it is significantly different from random at a significance level of 0.05.	Weeks 12 and 24
The mean and standard deviation of change in satisfaction with mHealth intervention	Measure satisfaction of the intervention by comparing the change in satisfaction measured by the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9) from baseline to 24 weeks. The change in satisfaction from baseline to 24 weeks will be summarized using mean and standard deviation in the text messaging arm and will be tested using t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test depending on the normality of the data tested by Shapiro Wilk test at a significance level of 0.05.	From on-study date up to 24 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• Collaborators: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI); University of Memphis
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Jane S. Hankins, MD, MS, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
• ClinicalTrials Open at St. Jude

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): December 5, 2017
• Primary Completion (Actual): June 28, 2018
• Study Completion (Actual): June 28, 2018

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 6, 2017
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 13, 2017
• First Posted (Actual): November 17, 2017

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): December 11, 2019
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 10, 2019
• Last Verified: November 1, 2019

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Medication adherence; mHealth; Barriers to adherence
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Hematologic Diseases; Genetic Diseases, Inborn; Anemia; Anemia, Hemolytic, Congenital; Anemia, Hemolytic; Hemoglobinopathies; Anemia, Sickle Cell
• Other Study ID Numbers: REHASH; U01HL133996 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No