BACKGROUND:
Wireless
communication technologies are increasingly being used in the fields of
healthcare, with platforms such as mobile health (mHealth) being widely
implemented in HIV care. The rapid expansion of mobile technologies, including
smartphone applications (apps), provides a unique opportunity to effectively
remind patients about regular follow-up appointments, thereby ensuring patient
retention and resulting in a higher quality of care for HIV patients.
PURPOSE:
This
study examines mobile phone users' usage patterns, application usage, and
challenges associated with the use of a mobile phone reminder system in order
to improve retention in HIV care among patients.
METHODS:
A
cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted to collect data on the usage
and patterns of communication technologies from 405 patients.
RESULTS:
This
study included 384 of the 405 eligible patients, resulting in a response rate
of 94.8%. A majority of participants (73.3%) indicated their willingness to
receive reminders via a text message regarding their upcoming HIV clinical
appointments. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables,
multiple logistic regression models indicated that the willingness to receive
reminder messages was independently associated with having a college-level
education (AOR = 2.06, 95% CI [1.05, 4.04]) and with having prior experience
with using electronic reminders (AOR = 4.01, 95% CI [1.51, 10.66]).
CONCLUSIONS / IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE:
Protection
of personal information was identified as the most important factor that must
be addressed in order to increase patient willingness to use a cell phone
reminder system. Our findings suggest that mobile technologies are a widely
used and an acceptable method for improving quality of care for HIV patients.
- 1MSN, RN, HIV Case Manager, Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan, ROC.
- 2MSN, RN, Doctoral Student, Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC.
- 3Undergraduate Program Student, Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Taiwan, ROC.
- 4PhD, RN, Professor, Department of Nursing, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, and Deputy Director, Department of Nursing, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, Taiwan, ROC. nyko@mail.ncku.edu.tw.
- Hu Li Za Zhi. 2016 Feb;63(1):59-67. doi: 10.6224/JN.63.1.59.
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