“Yes, I’m reminded, but it doesn’t mean I’m taking them”: Experiences with Short Message Service Reminder Use in Real-time Monitoring of HIV PrEP among Young Women in Kenya

Adherence to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is challenging, and cellular technology offers a promising opportunity for support. However, a recent randomized controlled trial found that SMS reminders did not improve PrEP adherence. We used qualitative methods to explore the trial participants’...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:AIDS and behavior 2023, Vol.27 (1), p.65-74
Main Authors: Ogello, Vallery, Ngure, Kenneth, Thuo, Nicholas, Burns, Bridget, Rono, Bernard, Oware, Kevin, Kiptiness, Catherine, Mugo, Nelly, Bukusi, Elizabeth, Garrison, Lindsey, Baeten, Jared M., Haberer, Jessica E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome
Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome
AIDS
Clinical trials
Content analysis
Disease prevention
Electricity
Female
Health Psychology
HIV
HIV Infections - drug therapy
HIV Infections - prevention & control
Human immunodeficiency virus
Humans
Infectious Diseases
Interviews
Kenya
Medical research
Medication Adherence
Medicine
Medicine & Public Health
Original Paper
Patient compliance
Privacy
Prophylaxis
Public Health
Qualitative research
Reminder Systems
Short message service
Technology
Text Messaging
Women
Womens health
Young women
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Adherence to oral pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) is challenging, and cellular technology offers a promising opportunity for support. However, a recent randomized controlled trial found that SMS reminders did not improve PrEP adherence. We used qualitative methods to explore the trial participants’ experiences with the SMS intervention. We conducted serial in-depth interviews with 54 young Kenyan women, using inductive and deductive content analysis . Initially, SMS reminders were highly acceptable. Participants expressed enthusiasm with receiving the reminders because of the coded nature of the SMS reminders; they also helped in ‘habit forming’ with daily adherence. However, overtime, participants reported growing concerns about privacy, self-efficacy, and responsibility and SMS fatigue. Participants also reported other challenges, including phone loss, poor telephone network, and lack of electricity. Further research to explore if SMS reminders in alternative formats or with different frequency is needed, in addition to identification of alternate adherence support strategies.
ISSN:1090-7165
1573-3254
DOI:10.1007/s10461-022-03744-z