Text Messaging to Improve Attendance at Post-Operative Clinic Visits after Adult Male Circumcision for HIV Prevention: A Randomized Controlled Trial

BACKGROUND: Following male circumcision for HIV prevention, a high proportion of men fail to return for their scheduled seven-day post-operative visit. We evaluated the effect of short message service (SMS) text messages on attendance at this important visit. METHODOLOGY: We enrolled 1200 participants >18 years old in a two-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial at 12 sites in Nyanza province, Kenya. Participants received daily SMS text messages for seven days (n = 600) or usual care (n = 600). The primary outcome was attendance at the scheduled seven-day post-operative visit. The primary analysis was by intention-to-treat. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of participants receiving SMS, 387/592 (65.4%) returned, compared to 356/596 (59.7%) in the control group (relative risk [RR] = 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00–1.20; p = 0.04). Men who paid more than US$1.25 to travel to clinic were at higher risk for failure to return compared to those who spent ≤US$1.25 (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 1.35, 95% CI 1.15–1.58; p<0.001). Men with secondary or higher education had a lower risk of failure to return compared to those with primary or less education (aRR 0.87, 95% CI 0.74–1.01; p = 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: Text messaging resulted in a modest improvement in attendance at the 7-day post-operative clinic visit following adult male circumcision. Factors associated with failure to return were mainly structural, and included transportation costs and low educational level. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01186575