In Kenya, a cell phone can mean the difference between life and death
Here at Techvibes, we’ve reported on how cell phones are changing Kenya for the better, and we’ve focused on how the banking capabilities of cell phones are helping the average Kenyan improve his or her life.
But research from the University of British Columbia shows that cell phone don’t just improve lives: they can also save them.
Kenya has over two million people suffering from HIV/AIDS, and while that number has fallen dramatically since the late 1990s, it is still a huge problem. To prevent HIV from developing into AIDS, ARV (anti-retroviral) drugs are commonly prescribed, in the hopes of lowering the detectable amount of the virus in the bloodstream, and therefore lowering symptoms and decreasing the odds of transmitting the disease to others.
A researcher with the University of British Columbia, Dr. Richard Lester, has published a study in The Lancet showing that when clinics use text messaging to remind their patients to take their ARVs, usage improved by 12 per cent.
“ART requires patients to take their medication very consistently to ensure the virus stays dormant and to prevent the person from developing resistance to the drugs,” says lead author Dr. Richard Lester, a clinical assistant professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the UBC Faculty of Medicine. “But adhering to such a regimen can be particularly difficult in the developing world, where visits to clinics can be arduous and time-consuming, and where civil strife, food shortages, economic hardship and even wars can disrupt people’s lives.”
Between May 2007 and October 2009, 538 patients were enrolled in the WelTel Kenya1 study from three clinics that provided care for HIV/AIDS patients – one in a low-income section of Nairobi, another in a higher-income section of the city, and a third in a rural district. Half of the patients were randomly selected to receive text message support, while the others did not. This was the first randomized controlled trial to examine the effectiveness of a mobile phone support system with HIV patients.
Those in the support group received a weekly message from their clinic, typically “Mambo?” (“How are you?” in Kiswahili). Patients were expected to respond within 48 hours by either texting “Sawa” (doing well) or “Shida” (have a problem). The clinics then contacted patients who reported a problem or who didn’t respond. Some of the people requiring follow-up communication had fled their homes because of post-election violence in 2007 and needed help locating a new clinic.
It’s pretty astounding how modern communications can change the lives of so many people in such profound ways — and so simply, to boot. Kudos to you, Dr. Lester.
