Skip to main content
Key Specialties
Cardiology Diabetology Endocrinology Gastroenterology Geriatrics and Gerontology Gynecology and Obstetrics Hematology Infectious Disease Internal Medicine Nephrology Neurology Oncology Pediatrics Respiratory Medicine Rheumatology Surgery
Congress Coverage
2024 ACC Congress 2023 ESMO Congress 2023 EASD Congress 2023 ERS Congress 2023 ESC Congress
Clinical Collections
Advances in Alzheimer’s

At a glance: The STEP trials

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.
ADVANCED SEARCH
Log in
Top
Current HIV/AIDS Reports
Published in: Current HIV/AIDS Reports 4/2015

01-12-2015 | HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

Recent Evidence for Emerging Digital Technologies to Support Global HIV Engagement in Care

Authors: Kate Jongbloed, Sunjit Parmar, Mia van der Kop, Patricia M. Spittal, Richard T. Lester

Published in: Current HIV/AIDS Reports | Issue 4/2015

Login to get access

Abstract

Antiretroviral therapy is a powerful tool to reduce morbidity and mortality for the 35 million people living with HIV globally. However, availability of treatment alone is insufficient to meet new UNAIDS 90-90-90 targets calling for rapid scale-up of engagement in HIV care to end the epidemic in 2030. Digital technology interventions (mHealth, eHealth, and telehealth) are emerging as one approach to support lifelong engagement in HIV care. This review synthesizes recent reviews and primary studies published since January 2014 on digital technology interventions for engagement in HIV care after diagnosis. Technologies for health provide emerging and proven solutions to support achievement of the United Nations targets for the generalized HIV-affected population. Much of the existing evidence addresses antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence; however, studies have begun to investigate programs to support linkage and retention in care as well as interventions to engage key populations facing extensive barriers to care.
Literature
1.
UNAIDS. The gap report. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). 2014.
2.
UNAIDS. 90-90-90: an ambitious treatment target to help end the AIDS epidemic. Geneva: Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). 2014.
3.
Gardner EM, McLees MP, Steiner JF, del Rio C, Burman WJ. The spectrum of engagement in HIV care and its relevance to test-and-treat strategies for prevention of HIV infection. Clin Infect Dis. 2011;52:793–800.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
4.
Brennan A, Browne JP, Horgan M. A systematic review of health service interventions to improve linkage with or retention in HIV care. AIDS Care. 2014;26:804–12.CrossRefPubMed
5.
Govindasamy D, Meghij J, Negussi EK, Baggaley RC, Ford N, Kranzer K. Interventions to improve or facilitate linkage to or retention in pre-ART (HIV) care and initiation of ART in low-and middle-income settings–a systematic review. J Int AIDS Soc. 2014;17:19032. doi:10.​7448/​IAS.​17.​1.​19032.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
6.••
Muessig KE, Nekkanti M, Bauermeister J, Bull S, Hightow-Weidman LB. A systematic review of recent smartphone, Internet and Web 2.0 interventions to address the HIV continuum of care. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2015;12:173–90. This article is a comprehensive review of digital technologies excluding SMS for engagement in HIV care along the continuum from primary prevention through to secondary prevention. CrossRefPubMed
7.
Robustillo Cortés MDLA, Cantudo Cuenca MR, Morillo Verdugo R, Calvo Cidoncha E. High quantity but limited quality in healthcare applications intended for HIV-infected patients. Telemed e-Health. 2014;20:729–35.
8.
Amico KR. Evidence for Technology Interventions to Promote ART Adherence in Adult Populations: a Review of the Literature 2012–2015. Curr HIV/AIDS Rep. 2015. doi:10.​1007/​s11904-015-0286-4.
9.••
Mills, E. J., Lester, R., Thorlund, K., Lorenzi, M., Muldoon, K., Kanters, S., Linnemayr, S., Gross, R., Calderon, Y., Amico, K. R., & others. Interventions to promote adherence to antiretroviral therapy in Africa: a network meta-analysis. The Lancet HIV. 2014;1: e104–e111. This review is a comprehensive evaluation of interventions for ART adherence in Africa, paying important attention to nuances of programs (ie, SMS reminders versus supportive texting) to provide a clear picture of what works and what does not in the context of the generalized epidemic of sub-Saharan Africa.
10.
Chaiyachati KH, Ogbuoji O, Price M, Suthar AB, Negussie EK, Bärnighausen T. Interventions to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a rapid systematic review. AIDS. 2014;28:S187–204.CrossRefPubMed
11.
12.••
Wald DS, Butt S, Bestwick JP. One-way versus two-way text messaging on improving medication adherence: meta-analysis of randomized trials. Am J Med. 2015. doi:10.​1016/​j.​amjmed.​2015.​05.​035. This review article used a meta-analysis to evaluate differences in the impact of mHealth SMS programs that provide one-way versus two-way texting, providing insight the specifics of mHealth success.
13.
Anglada-Martinez H, Riu-Viladoms G, Martin-Conde M, Rovira-Illamola M, Sotoca-Momblona J, & Codina-Jane C. Does mHealth increase adherence to medication? Results of a systematic review. Int J Clin Pract. 2015. doi:10.​1111/​ijcp.​12582.​13.
14.
Langebeek N, Nieuwkerk P. Electronic medication monitoring-informed counseling to improve adherence to combination anti-retroviral therapy and virologic treatment outcomes: a meta-analysis. Front Public Health. 2015. doi:10.​3389/​fpubh.​2015.​00139.
15.
16.
Park LG, Howie-Esquivel J, Dracup K. A quantitative systematic review of the efficacy of mobile phone interventions to improve medication adherence. J Adv Nurs. 2014;70:1932–53.CrossRefPubMed
17.
Mbuagbaw L, Sivaramalingam B, Navarro T, Hobson N, Keepanasseril A, Wilczynski NJ, et al. Interventions for enhancing adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART): a systematic review of high quality studies. AIDS Patient Care STDs. 2015;29:248–66.CrossRefPubMed
18.
Lester RT, Ritvo P, Mills EJ, Kariri A, Karanja S, Chung MH, et al. Effects of a mobile phone short message service on antiretroviral treatment adherence in Kenya (WelTel Kenya1): a randomised trial. Lancet. 2010;376:1838–45.CrossRefPubMed
19.
MacPherson P, Munthali C, Ferguson J, Armstrong A, Kranzer K, Ferrand RA, et al. Service delivery interventions to improve adolescents’ linkage, retention and adherence to antiretroviral therapy and HIV care. Tropical Med Int Health. 2015;20:1015–32.CrossRef
20.
Tufts KA, Johnson KF, Shepherd JG, Lee J-Y, Ajzoon MSB, Mahan LB, et al. Novel interventions for HIV self-management in African American women: a systematic review of mHealth interventions. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2015;26:139–50.CrossRefPubMed
21.
Norton BL, Person AK, Castillo C, Pastrana C, Subramanian M, Stout JE. Barriers to using text message appointment reminders in an HIV clinic. Telemed e-health. 2014;20:86–9.CrossRef
22.
Oluoch T, Kwaro D, Ssempijja V, Katana A, Langat P, Okeyo N, et al. Better adherence to pre-antiretroviral therapy guidelines after implementing an electronic medical record system in rural Kenyan HIV clinics: a multicenter pre–post study. Int J Infect Dis. 2015;33:109–13.CrossRefPubMed
23.••
Bigna JJR, Noubiap JJN, Kouanfack C, Plottel CS, Koulla-Shiro S. Effect of mobile phone reminders on follow-up medical care of children exposed to or infected with HIV in Cameroon (MORE CARE): a multicentre, single-blind, factorial, randomised controlled trial. Lancet Infect Dis. 2014;14:600–8. One of the larger randomized controlled trials to evaluate the potential for mHealth for retention in care for mothers and prevention of mother-to-child transmission.
24.
Schwartz SR, Clouse K, Yende N, Van Rie A, Bassett J, Ratshefola M, et al. Acceptability and feasibility of a mobile phone-based case management intervention to retain mothers and infants from an option B+ program in postpartum HIV care. Matern Child Health J. 2015;19:2029–37.CrossRefPubMed
25.
Finocchario-Kessler S, Gautney BJ, Khamadi S, Okoth V, Goggin K, Spinler JK, et al. If you text them, they will come: using the HIV infant tracking system to improve early infant diagnosis quality and retention in Kenya. AIDS. 2014;28:S313–21.
26.
Alemnji G, Fonjungo P, Van Der Pol B, Peter T, Kantor R, Nkengasong J. The centrality of laboratory services in the HIV treatment and prevention cascade: The need for effective linkages and referrals in resource-limited settings. AIDS Patient Care STDs. 2014;28:268–73.CrossRefPubMed
27.
Hao W-R, Hsu Y-H, Chen K-C, Li H-C, Iqbal U, Nguyen P-A, et al. LabPush: a pilot study of providing remote clinics with laboratory results via short message service (SMS) in Swaziland, Africa—a qualitative study. Comput Methods Prog Biomed. 2015;118:77–83.CrossRef
28.•
Siedner MJ, Haberer JE, Bangsberg DR. Know your audience: predictors of success for a patient-centered texting app to augment linkage to HIV care in rural Uganda. J Med Internet Res. 2015. doi:10.​2196/​jmir.​3859. One of the first trials to evaluate efficacy of an SMS intervention to provide laboratory results. Observed that those notified of abnormal results with high literacy were more likely to return to hospital.
29.
Jirawison C, Yen M, Leenasirimakul P, Chen J, Guadanant S, Kunavisarut P, et al. Telemedicine screening for cytomegalovirus retinitis at the point of care for human immunodeficiency virus infection. JAMA Ophthalmol. 2015;133:198–205.
30.••
Dryden-Peterson S, Bennett K, Hughes MD, Veres A, John O, Pradhananga R, et al. An augmented SMS intervention to improve access to antenatal CD4 testing and ART initiation in HIV-infected pregnant women: a cluster randomized trial. PLoS One. 2015. doi:10.​1371/​journal.​pone.​0117181. This article described a randomized trial to improve ART initiation via SMS-enabled relaying of CD4 count results from lab to clinic. While time to delivery of results was significantly reduced, ART initiation remained low and was no different in intervention arm compared to control.
31.
Oluoch T, Katana A, Ssempijja V, Kwaro D, Langat P, Kimanga D, et al. Electronic medical record systems are associated with appropriate placement of HIV patients on antiretroviral therapy in rural health facilities in Kenya: a retrospective pre-post study. J Am Med Inform Assoc. 2014;21:1009–14.
32.
Crouch P-CB, Rose CD, Johnson M, Janson SL. A pilot study to evaluate the magnitude of association of the use of electronic personal health records with patient activation and empowerment in HIV-infected veterans. Peer J. 2015. doi:10.​7717/​peerj.​852.
33.
Côté J, Godin G, Ramirez-Garcia P, Rouleau G, Bourbonnais A, Guéhéneuc Y-G, et al. Virtual intervention to support self-management of antiretroviral therapy among people living with HIV. J Med Internet Res. 2015. doi:10.​2196/​jmir.​3264.PubMedCentralPubMed
34.
Perera AI, Thomas MG, Moore JO, Faasse K, Petrie KJ. Effect of a smartphone application incorporating personalized health-related imagery on adherence to antiretroviral therapy: a randomized clinical trial. AIDS Patient Care STDs. 2014;28:579–86.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
35.
Shet A, De Costa A, Kumarasamy N, Rodrigues R, Rewari BB, Ashorn P, et al. Effect of mobile telephone reminders on treatment outcome in HIV: evidence from a randomised controlled trial in India. BMJ. 2014. doi:10.​1136/​bmj.​g5978.PubMedCentralPubMed
36.
Swendeman D, Jana S, Ray P, Mindry D, Das M, Bhakta B. Development and pilot testing of daily interactive voice response (IVR) calls to support antiretroviral adherence in India: a mixed-methods pilot study. AIDS Behav. 2015;19:142–55.CrossRefPubMed
37.
Belzer, M. E., Naar-King, S., Olson, J., Sarr, M., Thornton, S., Kahana, S. Y., Gaur, A. H., Clark, L. F., for HIV/AIDS Interventions, A. M. T. N., & et al. The use of cell phone support for non-adherent HIV-infected youth and young adults: an initial randomized and controlled intervention trial. AIDS Behav. 2014;18: 686–696.
38.•
Moore DJ, Poquette A, Casaletto KB, Gouaux B, Montoya JL, Posada C, et al. Individualized texting for adherence building (iTAB): improving antiretroviral dose timing among HIV-infected persons with co-occurring bipolar disorder. AIDS Behav. 2015;19:459–71. This article presents findings from a small randomized controlled trial of two-way SMS medication reminders for people living with HIV and bi-polar disorder. While the small study did not observe an effect, it is important as it presents a new area of mHealth interventions that treats the patient as a whole person with multiple simultaneous health needs.
39.
Young JD, Patel M, Badowski M, Mackesy-Amiti ME, Vaughn P, Shicker L, et al. Improved virologic suppression with HIV subspecialty care in a large prison system using telemedicine: an observational study with historical controls. Clin Infect Dis. 2014;59:123–6.
40.
Patel MC, Young JD. Delivering HIV subspecialty care in prisons utilizing telemedicine. Dis Mon. 2014;60:196–200.CrossRefPubMed
41.
Young JD, Patel M. HIV subspecialty care in correctional facilities using telemedicine. J Correct Health Care. 2015;21:177–85.CrossRefPubMed
42.
Bigna JJ, Noubiap JJ, Plottel CS, Kouanfack C, Koulla-Shiro S. Barriers to the implementation of mobile phone reminders in pediatric HIV care: a pre-trial analysis of the Cameroonian MORE CARE study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014. doi:10.​1186/​s12913-014-0523-3.PubMedCentralPubMed
43.
Clouse K, Schwartz SR, Van Rie A, Bassett J, Vermund SH, Pettifor AE. High mobile phone ownership, but low Internet and email usage among pregnant, HIV-infected women attending antenatal care in Johannesburg. J Telemed Telecare. 2015;21:104–7.CrossRefPubMed
44.
Rana Y, Haberer J, Huang H, Kambugu A, Mukasa B, Thirumurthy H, et al. Short message service (SMS)-based intervention to improve treatment adherence among HIV-positive youth in Uganda: focus group findings. PLoS One. 2015. doi:10.​1371/​journal.​pone.​0125187.
45.
Swahn MH, Braunstein S, Kasirye R. Demographic and psychosocial characteristics of mobile phone ownership and usage among youth living in the slums of Kampala, Urganda. West J Emerg Med. 2014;15:600–3.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
46.
Krishnan A, Ferro EG, Weikum D, Vagenas P, Lama JR, Sanchez J, et al. Communication technology use and mHealth acceptance among HIV-infected men who have sex with men in Peru: implications for HIV prevention and treatment. AIDS Care. 2015;27:273–82.CrossRefPubMed
47.
Blackstock OJ, Haughton LJ, Garner RY, Horvath KJ, Norwood C, Cunningham CO. General and health-related Internet use among an urban, community-based sample of HIV-positive women: implications for intervention development. AIDS Care. 2015;27:536–44.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
48.
Blackstock OJ, Shah PA, Haughton LJ, Horvath KJ, Cunningham CO. HIV-infected women’s perspectives on the use of the internet for social support: a potential role for online group-based interventions. J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2014;26:411–9.CrossRefPubMed
49.
Gaysynsky A, Romansky-Poulin K, Arpadi S. “My YAP Family”: analysis of a Facebook group for young adults living with HIV. AIDS Behav. 2014;19:947–62.CrossRef
50.
Madhvani N, Longinetti E, Santacatterina M, Forsberg BC, El-Khatib Z. Correlates of mobile phone use in HIV care: results from a cross-sectional study in South Africa. Prev Med Rep. 2015;2:512–6.CrossRef
51.
Smillie K, Borek NV, Kop MLVD, Lukhwaro A, Li N, Karanja S, et al. Mobile health for early retention in HIV care: a qualitative study in Kenya (WelTel Retain). Afr J AIDS Res. 2014;13:331–8.CrossRefPubMed
52.
Reid MJ, Dhar SI, Mark C, Liang P, Thompson J, Gabaitiri L, et al. Opinions and attitudes of participants in a RCT examining the efficacy of SMS reminders to enhance antiretroviral adherence: a cross sectional survey. J Acquir Immune Defic Syndr. 2014;65:e86–8.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
53.
Xiao Y, Ji G, Tian C, Li H, Biao W, Hu Z. Acceptability and factors associated with willingness to receive short messages for improving antiretroviral therapy adherence in China. AIDS Care. 2014;26:952–8.CrossRefPubMed
54.
Allan B, Smylie J. First Peoples, second class treatment: The role of racism in the health and well-being of Indigenous peoples in Canada. Toronto: Wellesley Institute; 2015.
55.
Wolfe D, Carrieri MP, Shepard D. Treatment and care for injecting drug users with HIV infection: a review of barriers and ways forward. Lancet. 2010;376:355–66.CrossRefPubMed
56.
Milloy M-J, Montaner J, Wood E. Barriers to HIV treatment among people who use injection drugs: implications for ‘treatment as prevention’. Curr Opin HIV AIDS. 2012;7:332–8.CrossRefPubMed
57.
Goldenberg, S. M., Montaner, J., Duff, P., Nguyen, P., Dobrer, S., Guillemi, S., & Shannon, K. Structural Barriers to Antiretroviral Therapy Among Sex Workers Living with HIV: Findings of a Longitudinal Study in Vancouver, Canada. AIDS Behav. 2015.
58.
Smillie K, Van Borek N, Abaki J, Pick N, Maan EJ, Friesen K, et al. A qualitative study investigating the use of a mobile phone short message service designed to improve HIV adherence and retention in care in Canada (WelTel BC1). J Assoc Nurses AIDS Care. 2014;25:614–25.CrossRefPubMed
59.
Mahal D, van der Kop M, Murray M, Jongbloed K, Patel A, Momin Kazi M, et al. Mobile health: an update on BC projects that use WelTel to enhance patient care. BC Med J. 2014;56:90.
60.
Ingersoll K, Dillingham R, Reynolds G, Hettema J, Freeman J, Hosseinbor S, et al. Development of a personalized bidirectional text messaging tool for HIV adherence assessment and intervention among substance abusers. J Subst Abus Treat. 2014;46:66–73.CrossRef
61.
Montoya JL, Georges S, Poquette A, Depp CA, Atkinson JH, Moore DJ. Refining a personalized mHealth intervention to promote medication adherence among HIV+ methamphetamine users. AIDS Care. 2014;26:1477–81.CrossRefPubMed
62.
Jacobs RJ, Caballero J, Ownby RL, Kane MN. Development of a culturally appropriate computer-delivered tailored internet-based health literacy intervention for spanish-dominant hispanics living with HIV. BMC Med Inf Decis Making. 2014;14:103.CrossRef
63.
Mbuagbaw L, Bonono-Momnougui R-C, Thabane L, Kouanfack C, Smieja M, Ongolo-Zogo P. A framework for community ownership of a text messaging programme to improve adherence to antiretroviral therapy and client-provider communication: a mixed methods study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2014;14:441.PubMedCentralCrossRefPubMed
64.
Rose CD, Cuca YP, Kamitani E, Eng S, Zepf R, Draughon J, et al. Using interactive web-based screening, brief intervention and referral to treatment in an urban, safety-Net HIV clinic. AIDS Behav. 2015;19:186–93.PubMedCentralCrossRef
Metadata
Title
Recent Evidence for Emerging Digital Technologies to Support Global HIV Engagement in Care
Authors
Kate Jongbloed
Sunjit Parmar
Mia van der Kop
Patricia M. Spittal
Richard T. Lester
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
Springer US
Published in
Current HIV/AIDS Reports / Issue 4/2015
Print ISSN: 1548-3568
Electronic ISSN: 1548-3576
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11904-015-0291-7

Other articles of this Issue 4/2015

Current HIV/AIDS Reports 4/2015 Go to the issue

HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

Technology-Delivered Mental Health Interventions for People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA): a Review of Recent Advances

HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

The Use of Technology to Advance HIV Prevention for Couples

HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

Use of Technology to Address Substance Use in the Context of HIV: A Systematic Review

HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

The Roles of Technology in Primary HIV Prevention for Men Who Have Sex with Men

Behavioral-Bio-Medical Interface (JL Brown and RJ DiClemente, Section Editors)

A Review of Recent Literature on Trauma Among Individuals Living with HIV

HIV and Technology (J Simoni and K Horvath, Section Editors)

Use of Technology for HIV Prevention Among Adolescent and Adult Women in the United States
Obesity Clinical Trial Summary

At a glance: The STEP trials

Read more

A round-up of the STEP phase 3 clinical trials evaluating semaglutide for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity.

Developed by: Springer Medicine

Highlights from the ACC 2024 Congress

Year in Review: Pediatric cardiology

Pediatric Cardiology Video

Watch Dr. Anne Marie Valente present the last year's highlights in pediatric and congenital heart disease in the official ACC.24 Year in Review session.

Year in Review: Pulmonary vascular disease

Cardiopulmonary Comorbidity Video

The last year's highlights in pulmonary vascular disease are presented by Dr. Jane Leopold in this official video from ACC.24.

Year in Review: Valvular heart disease

Valvular Heart Disease Video

Watch Prof. William Zoghbi present the last year's highlights in valvular heart disease from the official ACC.24 Year in Review session.

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Heart Failure Video

Watch this official video from ACC.24. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt discuss last year's major advances in heart failure and cardiomyopathies.

ACC 2024 Congress Coverage

Heart Failure Video

Year in Review: Heart failure and cardiomyopathies

Watch now

Watch this official video from ACC.24. Dr. Biykem Bozkurt discuss last year's major advances in heart failure and cardiomyopathies.

Semaglutide benefits people with type 2 diabetes and obesity-related heart failure

16-04-2024 Type 2 Diabetes News

Incentivised to exercise

11-04-2024 Lifestyle Modifications News

New intervention for STEMI-related cardiogenic shock

10-04-2024 Myocardial Infarction News

» View more highlights on the ACC 2024 congress hub page

Image Credits