Clinical trial NCT03055702: Using Mobile Phone Short Message Service (SMS) Reminders to Enhance Appointment Attendance in DM Patients
Official title: Using Mobile Phone Short Message Service (SMS) Reminders to Enhance Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Appointment Attendance in a Primary Care Clinic
Study type: INTERVENTIONAL
Overall status: UNKNOWN
Phase: NA
Conditions: Appointments and Schedules
Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2
Keywords: Short Message Service
appointment reminder
Attendance rate
Lead sponsor: The University of Hong Kong
Sponsor class: OTHER
Collaborators: name: Hospital Authority, Hong Kong
First posted: 2017-02-16
Enrollment: 270
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Allocation: RANDOMIZED
Intervention model: PARALLEL
Primary purpose: HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH

Brief summary: A randomized controlled trial of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus with multiple appointments into short message service group and control group. The attendance rate of these two groups of patients will be compared.

Detailed description: The main objective of this study is to evaluate the appointment attendance rate using SMS reminder of nurses and allied health appointments for diabetic patients, when compared to conventional telephone reminder and no reminder. We also aim at determine the factors associated with appointment attendance. Finally, we will also survey patients' acceptance and satisfaction to the SMS service.

This is a single blind randomization study. It will be carried out in Ha Kwai Chung General Outpatient Clinic.

The primary outcome of this study is to evaluate the attendance rate of each individual doctor, nurses and allied health clinic appointments for diabetic patients, as well as their overall attendance rates:

1. Diabetes Complication Screening Clinic (OPAS DMCS/RDNA)
2. Diabetes Nurse Intervention Clinic (OPAS DMIC/RDNI)
3. DM nurse group (OPAS RDNG)
4. Dietitian Counselling (OPAS DC/DG)
5. Physiotherapy (OPAS PTC/PTG)
6. Diabetes Doctor Session (OPAS RDR)
7. Retino photo Assessment (OPAS RDO)
8. Blood taking appointment (OPAS LABT)

The secondary outcomes are:

* Acceptance Rate of SMS Reminder Vs Telephone Reminder Vs no reminder
* Factors associated with acceptance of SMS

  1. Personal Parameters: Age, sex, educational level, occupation, mobile phone models, Habit of using mobile phone service
  2. Disease Parameters: Number and types of comorbidity, disease control (by biochemical markers)
  3. Quality of Life (by SF-6D)
* Reported adverse effects of the reminder system
* Chang in biochemical markers (BMI, HbA1c, LDL-c level) 6-9 months later

Subjects who agreed to participate in this study will first receive a survey on the acceptance of SMS service. For those agree to receive SMS reminder, they will be randomized to:

1. an SMS remind them to come for scheduled clinic appointment 24-72 hours before, or
2. usual care with no reminder / telephone reminder.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* With diagnosis of type 2 diabetes
* Have more than 1 clinic services appointment under RAMP-DM programme:

  (e.g. blood taking, diabetic nurse individual counselling, group education, diabetic complication screening, retinal photo assessment, dietician counselling, etc)

Exclusion Criteria:

1. Cannot read or receive appointment schedule on mobile phone
2. Do not speak Cantonese/English or read Chinese/English
3. Mentally incapacitated
4. Pregnant Women

Primary outcomes:
measure: Attendance Rate of the scheduled clinic appointment
timeFrame: between booking time and appointment time, usually within 1 weeks to 16 weeks
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Kwai Chung
country: Hong Kong
facility: Ha Kwai Chung General Outpatient Clinic
Study officials:
affiliation: Resident
name: Man Chi Dao, M.B.B.S.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: