Directly Observed Therapy to Measure Adherence to Tuberculosis Medication in Observational Research: Protocol for a Prospective Cohort Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

A major challenge for prospective, clinical tuberculosis (TB) research is accurately defining a metric for measuring medication adherence.

Objective

We aimed to design a method to capture directly observed therapy (DOT) via mobile health carried out by community workers. The program was created specifically to measure TB medication adherence for a prospective TB cohort in Western Cape Province, South Africa.

Methods

Community workers collect daily adherence data on mobile smartphones. Participant-level adherence, program-level adherence, and program function are systematically monitored to assess DOT program implementation. A data dashboard allows for regular visualization of indicators. Numerous design elements aim to prevent or limit data falsification an

SUBMITTER: Ragan EJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8277341 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature