Text Messaging Support for HIV
Palo Alto (17 mi)Overseen byCathy J Reback, PhD
Age: 18+
Sex: Male
Travel: May be covered
Time Reimbursement: Varies
Trial Phase: N/A
Recruiting
Sponsor: Friends Research Institute, Inc.
No Placebo Group
Trial Summary
What is the purpose of this trial?Text Me, Alexis! is a three-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to determine the optimal and most cost-effective intervention for advancing trans women living with HIV to full viral suppression. Participants will be randomized (1:1:1) to Peer Health Navigation (PHN) alone, SMS (text messaging) alone, or PHN+SMS. Participants in the PHN alone and PHN+SMS arms will receive unlimited navigation sessions over 3 months. Participants in the SMS alone and PHN+SMS arms will receive 3 daily theory-based text messages for 90 days for a total of 270 unique scripted messages.
Do I have to stop taking my current medications for this trial?The trial protocol does not specify whether you need to stop taking your current medications.
Is the treatment 'Text Me, Alexis!' a promising treatment for HIV?Yes, 'Text Me, Alexis!' is a promising treatment for HIV. Text messaging has been shown to help people stay engaged in their HIV care, increase awareness, and encourage testing. It is especially effective in reaching young people and those in high-risk groups, making it a valuable tool in managing and preventing HIV.357811
What safety data exists for text messaging support in HIV treatment?The provided research does not directly address safety data for text messaging support in HIV treatment. However, studies indicate that text messaging is a promising tool for improving HIV care engagement, adherence to antiretroviral therapy, and viral suppression rates. The studies focus on efficacy and engagement rather than safety, suggesting that text messaging interventions are generally considered low-risk. Further research may be needed to explicitly evaluate safety.2681012
What data supports the idea that Text Messaging Support for HIV (also known as: Text Me, Alexis!) is an effective treatment?The available research shows that text messaging can help people with HIV stick to their medication schedules, which is crucial for managing the condition. A meta-analysis of studies found that text message reminders improved adherence to antiretroviral therapy, which is important for keeping the virus under control. Additionally, text messaging can increase patient involvement and social support, which are important for better health outcomes. Compared to other treatments, text messaging is unique because it uses the widespread availability of mobile phones to reach people easily and frequently.12489
Eligibility Criteria
This trial is for trans women living with HIV/AIDS. Participants should be interested in interventions aimed at achieving full viral suppression. The study excludes individuals who do not meet the inclusion criteria set by the researchers, which are not specified here.Inclusion Criteria
I identify as a transgender woman.
I am 18 years old or older.
Exclusion Criteria
I am under 18 years old.
I do not identify as a transgender woman.
Treatment Details
'Text Me, Alexis!' is a study testing three approaches to help trans women with HIV reach full viral suppression: Peer Health Navigation (PHN), text messaging (SMS), or a combination of both PHN and SMS over three months.
3Treatment groups
Experimental Treatment
Group I: Simple Message System (SMS [text messaging])Experimental Treatment1 Intervention
Text messages are scripted across: 1) HIV Care Continuum (HIV Positivity/Physical and Emotional Health, Linkage/Retention in HIV Care, and ART Adherence/Viral Load Suppression); and, 2) theoretical foundation (Social Support Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, or Health Belief Model). Participants receive three daily, theory-based text messages for 90 days (270 unique scripted messages), evenly arrayed across the HIV Care Continuum. Text messages are delivered and transmitted to either a cell phone or an email inbox.
Group II: Peer Health Navigation (PHN)Experimental Treatment1 Intervention
PHN is a peer navigation intervention to advance trans women through the HIV Care Continuum by identifying their individual needs and barriers to HIV care, including: substance use and behavioral health needs; adherence goal(s); and methods to achieve adherence. Participants receive unlimited navigation sessions over 3 months; PHN sessions are delivered in a private room similar to a one-on-one peer counseling session.
Group III: PHN and SMSExperimental Treatment1 Intervention
PHN + SMS is the combined intervention.
PHN is a peer navigation intervention to advance trans women through the HIV Care Continuum by identifying their individual needs and barriers to HIV care, including: substance use and behavioral health needs; adherence goal(s); and methods to achieve adherence. Participants receive unlimited navigation sessions over 3 months; PHN sessions are delivered in a private room similar to a one-on-one peer counseling session.
Text messages are scripted across: 1) HIV Care Continuum (HIV Positivity/Physical and Emotional Health, Linkage/Retention in HIV Care, and ART Adherence/Viral Load Suppression); and, 2) theoretical foundation (Social Support Theory, Social Cognitive Theory, or Health Belief Model). Participants receive three daily, theory-based text messages for 90 days (270 unique scripted messages), evenly arrayed across the HIV Care Continuum. Text messages are delivered and transmitted to either a cell phone or an email inbox.
Find a clinic near you
Research locations nearbySelect from list below to view details:
Friends Community CenterLos Angeles, CA
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Who is running the clinical trial?
Friends Research Institute, Inc.Lead Sponsor
Weill Medical College of Cornell UniversityCollaborator
References
Beyond reminders: a conceptual framework for using short message service to promote prevention and improve healthcare quality and clinical outcomes for people living with HIV. [2022]The availability of effective antiretroviral therapy has altered HIV from being an acute disease to being a chronic, manageable condition for many people living with HIV (PLWH). Because of their ubiquity and flexibility, mobile phones with short message service (SMS) offer a unique opportunity to enhance treatment and prevention for people managing HIV. To date, very few US studies using SMS for HIV self-management have been published. In this article, we review the published SMS-based intervention research that aimed to improve healthcare quality and outcomes for PLWH and other chronic health conditions, and propose a conceptual model that integrates the communication functionality of SMS with important psychosocial factors that could mediate the impact of SMS on health outcomes. We posit that an SMS-based intervention that incorporates the elements of interactivity, frequency, timing, and tailoring of messages could be implemented to encourage greater medication adherence as well as impact other mutually reinforcing behaviors and factors (e.g., increasing patient involvement and social support, reducing risk behaviors, and promoting general health and well-being) to support better healthcare quality and clinical outcomes for PLWH. We recommend that future studies explore the potential linkages between variations in SMS characteristics and these mediating factors to determine if and how they influence the larger outcomes.
Mobile phone text messages for improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART): a protocol for an individual patient data meta-analysis of randomised trials. [2022]Mobile phone text messaging is emerging as an important tool in the care of people living with HIV; however, reports diverge on its efficacy in improving adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART), and little is known about which patient groups may benefit most from phone-based adherence interventions. We will conduct an individual patient data meta-analysis to investigate the overall and subgroup effects of text messaging in three recently published text-messaging randomised controlled trials.
Are MSM willing to SMS for HIV prevention? [2022]Text messaging is a potential HIV-prevention tool for men who have sex with men (MSM), specifically young MSM and MSM of color. To determine the willingness of MSM to receive text messages as part of an HIV-prevention intervention, we administered an online survey to MSM recruited from MySpace.com, which included questions about mobile phone ownership and willingness to participate in a future text message-based HIV research study. Of participants, 85% (n = 5,378) reported owning a mobile phone and 49% (n = 2,483) of mobile phone owners reported being willing to receive text messages in a future HIV research study. Black and Hispanic men were more willing than White non-Hispanic men to receive text messages. Men with a college degree were less willing to receive texts than men with a high school level of education, and men >22 years old were less likely to be willing to receive texts than those younger than 22 years of age. The authors' findings demonstrate that willingness to receive text messages as part of an HIV research study is moderate, and mirrors patterns of text message use in age and race. Variations in willingness should be taken into account when designing and implementing future interventions.
Text message intervention designs to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART): a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. [2022]The efficacy of antiretroviral therapy depends on patient adherence to a daily medication regimen, yet many patients fail to adhere at high enough rates to maintain health and reduce the risk of transmitting HIV. Given the explosive global growth of cellular-mobile phone use, text-messaging interventions to promote adherence are especially appropriate. This meta-analysis synthesized available text messaging interventions to promote antiretroviral therapy adherence in people living with HIV.
Promoting sexual health with SMS texting technology. [2018]Most cell phone owners use the short message service (SMS), also known as "texting." Most teens and young adults use text messages; they were the first users to embrace this technology and are still the most frequent users. Text messaging has the potential to provide them with information about preventing sexually transmitted infections. Several innovative programs that use text messaging to promote sexual health are described here.
Short message service broadcasting to improve the uptake of influenza vaccination in HIV-positive patients at a metropolitan sexual health clinic. [2019]A trial of using Short Message Service (SMS) broadcasting at a metropolitan sexual health clinic in 2013 to promote the awareness and uptake of influenza vaccinations in HIV-positive patients resulted in a significant increase in the number of patients contacted (35% vs 81% P
Mobile phone text messaging interventions for HIV and other chronic diseases: an overview of systematic reviews and framework for evidence transfer. [2022]Strong international commitment and the widespread use of antiretroviral therapy have led to higher longevity for people living with human immune deficiency virus (HIV). Text messaging interventions have been shown to improve health outcomes in people living with HIV. The objectives of this overview were to: map the state of the evidence of text messaging interventions, identify knowledge gaps, and develop a framework for the transfer of evidence to other chronic diseases.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Text Messaging Intervention to Promote Virologic Suppression and Retention in Care in an Urban Safety-Net Human Immunodeficiency Virus Clinic: The Connect4Care Trial. [2022]Text messaging is a promising strategy to support human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) care engagement, but little is known about its efficacy in urban safety-net HIV clinics.
Content guidance for mobile phones short message service (SMS)-based antiretroviral therapy adherence and appointment reminders: a review of the literature. [2023]Mobile phones are increasingly being used to support health activities, including the care and management of people living with HIV/AIDS. Short message service (SMS) has been explored as a means to optimize and support behaviour change. However, there is minimal guidance on messaging content development. The purpose of this review was to inform the content of SMS messages for mobile health (mHealth) initiatives designed to support anti-retroviral therapy adherence and clinic appointment keeping in resource-limited settings. PubMed, OvidMedline, Google Scholar, K4Health's mHealth Evidence database, the mHealth Working Group project resource, and Health COMpass were searched. A request to online communities for recommendations on message content was also made. 1010 unique sources were identified, of which 51 were included. The information was organized into three categories: pre-message development, message development, and security and privacy. Fifteen of the publications explicitly provided their message content. Important lessons when developing the content of SMS were: (1) conducting formative research; (2) grounding content in behaviour change theory; and (3) reviewing proposed content with experts. Best practices exist for developing message content for behaviour change. Efforts should be continued to apply lessons learned from the existing literature to inform mHealth initiatives supporting HIV/AIDS care and treatment.
Feasibility of Assessing Economic and Sexual Risk Behaviors Using Text Message Surveys in African-American Young Adults Experiencing Homelessness and Unemployment: Single-Group Study. [2021]Text messages offer the potential to better evaluate HIV behavioral interventions using repeated longitudinal measures at a lower cost and research burden. However, they have been underused in US minority settings.
Test@Work Texts: Mobile Phone Messaging to Increase Awareness of HIV and HIV Testing in UK Construction Employees during the COVID-19 Pandemic. [2020]Background: HIV poses a threat to global health. With effective treatment options available, education and testing strategies are essential in preventing transmission. Text messaging is an effective tool for health promotion and can be used to target higher risk populations. This study reports on the design, delivery and testing of a mobile text messaging SMS intervention for HIV prevention and awareness, aimed at adults in the construction industry and delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Participants were recruited at Test@Work workplace health promotion events (21 sites, n = 464 employees), including health checks with HIV testing. Message development was based on a participatory design and included a focus group (n = 9) and message fidelity testing (n = 291) with assessment of intervention uptake, reach, acceptability, and engagement. Barriers to HIV testing were identified and mapped to the COM-B behavioural model. 23 one-way push SMS messages (19 included short web links) were generated and fidelity tested, then sent via automated SMS to two employee cohorts over a 10-week period during the COVID-19 pandemic. Engagement metrics measured were: opt-outs, SMS delivered/read, number of clicks per web link, four two-way pull messages exploring repeat HIV testing, learning new information, perceived usefulness and behaviour change. Results: 291 people participated (68.3% of eligible attendees). A total of 7726 messages were sent between March and June 2020, with 91.6% successfully delivered (100% read). 12.4% of participants opted out over 10 weeks. Of delivered messages, links were clicked an average of 14.4% times, max 24.1% for HIV related links. The number of clicks on web links declined over time (r = -6.24, p = 0.01). Response rate for two-way pull messages was 13.7% of participants. Since the workplace HIV test offer at recruitment, 21.6% reported having taken a further HIV test. Qualitative replies indicated behavioural influence of messaging on exercise, lifestyle behaviours and intention to HIV test. Conclusions: SMS messaging for HIV prevention and awareness is acceptable to adults in the construction industry, has high uptake, low attrition and good engagement with message content, when delivered during a global pandemic. Data collection methods may need refinement for audience, and effect of COVID-19 on results is yet to be understood.
More than just Reminders: Using text Messaging to Improve HIV care Outcomes Among Youth and Young Adults Living with HIV. [2023]This study evaluated engagement, satisfaction, and efficacy of an automated and live two-way text messaging intervention that linked youth and young adults at high risk for poor HIV outcomes to their medical case managers, with the aims of increasing viral load suppression rates and improving medical visit attendance. Participants (N = 100) were an average age of 22-23 years old. Most were Black (93%) and men who have sex with men (82%). A total of 89,681 automated text messages were sent to participants; and 62% of participants engaged in monthly text-message exchanges with medical case managers. McNemar's test results indicated that a significantly greater proportion of intervention participants were virally suppressed at 6 and 12 month follow-up than at enrollment. Adjusted odds ratio results showed a significant association between likelihood of achieving viral suppression at 6 and 12 months, and a greater number of participant responses to automated text messages. Future research should prospectively compare outcomes between usual care case management and usual care plus text-messaging to test for significant differences between groups.