The Lancet – WelTel Kenya1 Randomised Clinical Trial – 10 Nov 2010 Effects of a mobile phone short message service on antiretroviral treatment adherence in Kenya (WelTel Kenya1): a randomised trial Dr Richard T Lester MD, Paul Ritvo PhD, Edward J Mills PhD, Antony Kariri BSc, Sarah Karanja BSc, Michael H Chung MD, William Jack DPhil, James Habyarimana PhD, Mohsen Sadatsafavi MD, Mehdi Najafzadeh MSc, Carlo A MarraPharmD, Benson Estambale MBChB, Elizabeth Ngugi PhD, T Blake Ball PhD, Lehana Thabane PhD, Lawrence J Gelmon MD, Joshua Kimani MBChB, Marta Ackers MD, Prof Francis A Plummer MD. The Lancet, Volume 376, [...]

Nature – 15 July 2010 Developing solutions T. V. Padma Nature 466 , S16–S17 (15 July 2010) 14 July 2010 There is more to combating HIV in the developing world than providing affordable drugs. T. V. Padma looks at the innovative new strategies being employed. “Mambo?” The single Kiswahili word for “How are you?” arrives in a weekly text message from the AIDS clinic in Nairobi. From Kajiado, 200 miles away, the clinic’s patients, mostly members of pastoral Maasai communities, respond with “Sawa” (OK) or “Shida” (problem). If, after two days, the patient does not respond, a nurse follows up [...]

Kathmandu Post – 9 Nov 2009 Cell phones help positive living By Kamal Raj Sigdel, from Nepal, who attended a TRF ‘Reporting HIV/Aids’ course in Nairobi. This article was published on the front page of the Kathmandu Post NAIROBI, NOV 09 – George Mburu’s cell phone beeps on Sunday at his home in Nairobi’s Majengo slum. He reads a message reminding him to take his medicine. Mburu, 32, is one of 500 HIV-positive patients in Nairobi who receive an SMS every Sunday from the HAART Cell Phone Study Centre, a government initiative experimenting with cell phones in the treatment and [...]

World Health Organisation – Essential Medicines Monitor – November 2009 Mobilizing cell phones to improve antiretroviral adherence and follow-up in Kenya: a randomized controlled trial in progress Richard Lester and Antony Kariri The heart of the HIV/AIDS pandemic lies in regions traditionally lacking in modern infrastructures. Mobile/cellular telephone networks are breaking that pattern. Cell phone access and use is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa faster than anywhere else in the world. The United Nations has recognized that placing more cell phones in people’s hands leads to economic empowerment and can even increase gross domestic product (GDP).1 Access to health care should [...]

Trials – 22 Sep 2009 Trials Study protocol The HAART cell phone adherence trial (WelTel Kenya1): a randomized controlled trial protocol Richard T Lester*1,2, Edward J Mills3, Antony Kariri1, Paul Ritvo4, Michael Chung5, William Jack6, James Habyarimana6, Sarah Karanja1, Samson Barasa1, Rosemary Nguti1, Benson Estambale7, Elizabeth Ngugi1, T Blake Ball2, Lehana Thabane8, Joshua Kimani1,2, Lawrence Gelmon1,2, Marta Ackers9 and Francis A Plummer2,10 Address: 1Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Nairobi, UNITID Building, Nairobi, Kenya, 2Department of Medical Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Health Sciences Centre, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, 3BC Centre for Excellence in HIV, St. Paul’s Hospital, University of British Columbia, [...]

The Standard – 8 Aug 2009 AIDS Patients now Bet Big on E-Medication Published on 08/08/2009 By Erick Wamanji Peter ole Kampus (real name withheld on request) stops to read a text message from his cell phone. The one-word message is coded but he understands what it means. It reminds him to take his antiretroviral drugs and he rushes back to the house for the medicine. Telemedicine — this is how HIV/Aids is being tackled in Kajiado, 150km from Nairobi. “Sometimes I forget the drugs and the SMS reminds me. This way, I keep the prescription schedule,” Kampus explains. Perhaps, [...]