Document Detail


Cell phone short messaging service (SMS) for HIV/AIDS in South Africa: a literature review.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  20841743     Owner:  NLM     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the most serious threats to global health. HIV/AIDS is a chronic illness, requiring patient empowerment to enhance adherence to treatment regimes if it is to be managed effectively. While healthcare costs are rising, people still have expectations of high-quality care. This literature review-based study explored the use of cell phone (mobile phone) short messaging services (SMS) in health care, in particular for HIV/AIDS in South Africa. From an initial corpus of 212 papers, 28 were reviewed. The main findings include that SMS can improve service delivery through appointment reminders and improve communication between healthcare workers. It improves diagnosis, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation by supporting adherence to medication, and monitoring illness and medical interventions. SMS is useful in public health programmes, such as contact tracing and partner notification, therefore playing an important role in control of HIV/AIDS. As South Africa has one of the highest uptakes and demographic distributions of cellular technology in the world, SMS is feasible as a tool to deliver quality health care with low cost.
Authors:
Khatry-Chhetry Mukund Bahadur; Peter J Murray
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Publication Detail:
Type:  Journal Article; Review    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Studies in health technology and informatics     Volume:  160     ISSN:  0926-9630     ISO Abbreviation:  Stud Health Technol Inform     Publication Date:  2010  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2010-09-15     Completed Date:  2010-12-31     Revised Date:  -    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  9214582     Medline TA:  Stud Health Technol Inform     Country:  Netherlands    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  530-4     Citation Subset:  T    
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, Walter Sisulu University, Mthatha, South Africa. mkc@wsu.ac.za
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Cellular Phone / utilization*
Electronic Health Records / utilization*
Electronic Mail / utilization*
HIV Infections / diagnosis*,  epidemiology,  therapy*
Humans
South Africa / epidemiology

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