Application of mobile phone technology as intervention for the management of tuberculosis patients diagnosed through community survey

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES: The delay in communicating the results to tuberculosis (TB) patients leads to increased rates of initial loss to follow up of treatment. The gap in communication among healthcare providers requires application of new tools that will address the challenges. Mobile phone technologies could be a useful tool in this context for the delivery of information. The objective was thus to evaluate communication by mobile applications such as the WhatsApp Messenger to decrease initial loss to follow up after initial treatment for TB. METHODS: Indian Council of Medical Research-National Institute for Research in Tuberculosis, Chennai, India undertook a community prevalence survey to find the burden of TB. During this survey, mobile phone-based technology (WhatsApp messenger) was employed as an intervention among the healthcare providers and researchers involved for communicating. This was further evaluated for its usefulness by examining the initial loss to follow up and patients initiated on treatment. RESULTS: The study covered four blocks of Thiruvallur district of Tamil Nadu, South India, namely Kadambathur, Poondi, Thiruvalangadu and Periyapalayam. The survey population was around 20,000 from each block, and the average patients diagnosed by community TB prevalence survey were 30 patients from each block. Among the patients diagnosed through this survey, in the first block, only 55 per cent were initiated on treatment; subsequently, with the intervention, the initial loss to follow up was significantly reduced from 45 to zero per cent. INTERPRETATION & CONCLUSIONS: After integrating of WhatsApp messenger application for communication among healthcare providers and researchers, the initial loss to follow up among patients being treated for TB was significantly decreased.