TY - JOUR
T1 - 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
T2 - The Connect4Care Trial
AU - Christopoulos, Katerina A.
AU - Riley, Elise D.
AU - Carrico, Adam W.
AU - Tulsky, Jacqueline
AU - Moskowitz, Judith T.
AU - Dilworth, Samantha
AU - Coffin, Lara S.
AU - Wilson, Leslie
AU - Peretz, Jason Johnson
AU - Hilton, Joan F.
N1 - Funding Information:
Potential conflicts of interest. K. A. C. has been a community advisory board member for Gilead and a scientific advisory board member for Roche; she has also received investigator-initiated grant support from Gilead. All other authors report no potential conflicts. Conflicts that the editors consider relevant to the content of the manuscript have been disclosed.
Funding Information:
Financial Support. This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (grants R01 DA 032057 and K23 MH 092220 to K. A. C, UL1 TR00004 to the University of California Clinical and Translational Science Institute, and P30 AI027763 to the University of California San Francisco-Gladstone Institute of Virology & Immunology Center for AIDS Research).
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.
PY - 2018/8/16
Y1 - 2018/8/16
N2 - 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. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a supportive and motivational text messaging intervention, Connect4Care (C4C), among viremic patients who had a history of poor retention or were new to the clinic. Participants were randomized (stratified by new or established HIV diagnosis status) to receive either of the following for 12 months: (1) thrice-weekly intervention messages, plus texted primary care appointment reminders and a monthly text message requesting confirmation of study participation or (2) texted reminders and monthly messages alone. Viral load was assessed at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was virologic suppression (<200 copies/mL) at 12 months, estimated via repeated-measures log-binomial regression, adjusted for new-diagnosis status. The secondary outcome was retention in clinic care. Results. Between August 2013 and November 2015, a total of 230 participants were randomized. Virologic suppression at 12 months was similar in intervention and control participants (48.8% vs 45.8%, respectively), yielding a rate ratio of 1.07 (95% confidence interval, .82-1.39). Suppression was higher in those with newly diagnosed infection (78.3% vs 45.3%). There were no intervention effects on the secondary outcome. Exploratory analyses suggested that patients with more responses to study text messages had better outcomes, regardless of arm. Conclusions. The C4C text messaging intervention did not significantly increase virologic suppression or retention in care. Response to text messages may be a useful way for providers to gauge risk for poor HIV outcomes.
AB - 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. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial of a supportive and motivational text messaging intervention, Connect4Care (C4C), among viremic patients who had a history of poor retention or were new to the clinic. Participants were randomized (stratified by new or established HIV diagnosis status) to receive either of the following for 12 months: (1) thrice-weekly intervention messages, plus texted primary care appointment reminders and a monthly text message requesting confirmation of study participation or (2) texted reminders and monthly messages alone. Viral load was assessed at 6 and 12 months. The primary outcome was virologic suppression (<200 copies/mL) at 12 months, estimated via repeated-measures log-binomial regression, adjusted for new-diagnosis status. The secondary outcome was retention in clinic care. Results. Between August 2013 and November 2015, a total of 230 participants were randomized. Virologic suppression at 12 months was similar in intervention and control participants (48.8% vs 45.8%, respectively), yielding a rate ratio of 1.07 (95% confidence interval, .82-1.39). Suppression was higher in those with newly diagnosed infection (78.3% vs 45.3%). There were no intervention effects on the secondary outcome. Exploratory analyses suggested that patients with more responses to study text messages had better outcomes, regardless of arm. Conclusions. The C4C text messaging intervention did not significantly increase virologic suppression or retention in care. Response to text messages may be a useful way for providers to gauge risk for poor HIV outcomes.
KW - HIV/AIDS
KW - mobile health
KW - retention in care
KW - text messaging (SMS)
KW - vulnerable populations.
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U2 - 10.1093/cid/ciy156
DO - 10.1093/cid/ciy156
M3 - Article
C2 - 29474546
AN - SCOPUS:85054976481
VL - 67
SP - 751
EP - 759
JO - Clinical Infectious Diseases
JF - Clinical Infectious Diseases
SN - 1058-4838
IS - 5
ER -