Development of a Video-Observed Therapy System to Improve Monitoring of Tuberculosis Treatment in Thailand: Mixed-Methods Study

BACKGROUND: Directly observed therapy programs for monitoring tuberculosis (TB) treatment in Thailand are unsustainable, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current video-observed therapy (VOT) system, the Thai VOT (TH VOT), was developed to replace the directly observed therapy program. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the VOT system design and identify the potential for system improvements. METHODS: This pilot study was conducted in Na Yong district, a small district in Trang province, south of Thailand. The TH VOT system consists of a smartphone app for patients, a secured web-based platform for staff, items used, and standard operating procedures. There were three groups of users: observers who were TB staff, healthy volunteers as simulated patients, and patients with active TB. All participants were trained to follow the standard operating procedures. After 2-week usage, VOT session records were analyzed to measure the compliance of the patients and observers. The User Experience Questionnaire was used to lead the participant users to focus on 6 standard dimensions of usability, and was supplemented with an in-depth interview to identify potential system improvements from users’ experience. RESULTS: Only 2 of 16 patients with currently active TB had a usable smartphone. Sixty of 70 drug-taking sessions among 2 patients and 3 simulated patients in 2 weeks were recorded and uploaded. Only 37 sessions were inspected by the observers within 24 hours. All participants needed a proper notification system. An audit system was also requested. CONCLUSIONS: Before upscaling, the cost of smartphone lending, audit management, and notification systems should be elucidated.