View clinical trials related to Treatment Adherence.
Filter by:Alcohol and other drug use is common among people living with HIV in South Africa and is associated with worse engagement in HIV care. There is evidence that healthcare workers in this setting, including community health workers who play a central role in re-engaging patients back into HIV care, exhibit stigmatizing behaviors towards HIV patients who use substances. In general, healthcare worker stigma towards alcohol and other drug use is associated with poorer treatment of patients who use substances, and in this setting, healthcare worker stigma towards alcohol and other drug use has been associated with worse patient engagement in HIV care. In the United States, peer recovery coaches (PRCs), who are trained individuals with lived substance use recovery experience, have helped patients who use substances engage in healthcare. Theoretically, integrating a PRC onto a healthcare team also increases healthcare worker contact with a person with substance use experience, which may be associated with lower stigma. Yet, a PRC model has not yet been tested in South African HIV care. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to develop and pilot a PRC model integrated into community-based primary care teams providing HIV services in South Africa. The study aims to compare a healthcare team with a PRC to a team without a PRC. The investigators will primarily assess the implementation of this PRC model and rates of patient re-engagement in care.
The overall goal of this study is to conduct a Randomized Clinical Trial (RCT) to evaluate a tuberculosis treatment support tool (TB-TST), a cellular phone app developed using user-centered design principles and a paper-based drug metabolite urine test strip modified for home use for testing the presence of isoniazid drug metabolites in urine to directly monitor adherence to treatment, to improve treatment outcomes for patients with TB receiving self-administered treatment (SAT). Poor medication adherence to TB regimens, along with challenges in monitoring patients and returning them to treatment, are important contributing factors to poor outcomes and the development of drug resistance. With advances and proliferation of mobile technology platforms, there is substantial interest in the possible use of mobile health (mHealth) interventions to address these challenges. Of the mHealth approaches under investigation for TB adherence monitoring, drug metabolite testing has been identified as the most promising, ethical, and accurate, and the least intrusive and stigmatizing strategy compared to other mobile solutions, yet its potential remains largely unexplored. Additionally, mobile applications (apps) may provide personalized treatment supervision, increase patients' self-management and improve patient-provider communication by offering more advanced functionalities for patient support and monitoring. The existing version of the TB-TST app offers education on TB and its treatment, communication with a care-coordinator, tracks treatment adherence (both by self-reporting and direct metabolite test strip images), self-reports treatment side-effects, and retains patient's "diary" notes. This proposal builds on preliminary work to: 1) Refine the TB-TST intervention based on pilot study findings and apply principles of user-centered design; 2) Evaluate the impact of the TB-TST on treatment outcomes compared to usual care; 3) Assess patient and provider perceptions of the facilitators and barriers to implementation of the TB-TST and synthesize lessons learned with stakeholders and policy makers. Primary outcome will be treatment success. Secondary outcomes will include: treatment default rates, self-reported adherence, technology use and usability. Findings have broader implications not only for TB adherence but disease management more generally and will improve our understanding of how to support patients facing challenging treatment regimens
The affectedness of the motor control of the upper limb, particulary, the hand and/or fingers, appears in many neurological diseases, what is going to impact on the functionality of the subject. The use of new technologies in the rehabilitation environment, has the target to reduce the impact on the disabling conditions. So that, the goal of this investigation is to evaluate the system use effectiveness of the Leap Motion Controller® in the treatment on the upper limb on patients with neurological disease.
Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. The consequent healthcare costs in Europe alone are estimated at 196,000 million euros annually, approximately 54% of the total investment in health, resulting in productivity losses of 24% [1-3]. In recent years, the impact of CVD in non-Western countries has been growing [4,5]; therefore, prevention is presented as a primordial tool to improve quality of life and patient survival [6,7]. Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is defined as a multidisciplinary program of clinical application of preventive measures for risk reduction and global and long-term care of the cardiac patient. In secondary prevention, it is shown to reduce the morbimortality by almost 50% in patients with heart disease. However, the participation of patients in cardiac rehabilitation remains low, especially among the following groups: the elderly, women and patients with a low socioeconomic profile. According to the latest Euroaspire V data, participation in CR programs in Spain is around 50%. The Reureca registry reports that only 10% of patients with a CR indication attend the programs. Therefore, new technologies within the health field, specifically within cardiac rehabilitation programs through the use of virtual reality (VR) and video games, are shown as promising aids with the aim of increasing adherence, satisfaction with programs and participation rates, offering the ability to perform physical exercise [8-11]. Virtual reality is a simulation of a real or imaginary environment created by a computer system, which allows the user to feel immersed and to interact with objects in that environment [12-14]. Thus, the basic elements that constitute a VR system are simulation, interaction and immersion [15]. Moreover, the creation of more adaptable and accessible videogame platforms has meant that the phenomenon of technological expansion can be understood not only as a form of leisure but also as an important means of learning and skills training, especially in people with motor, cognitive and sensory (neurological and non-neurological) deficits [16]. In contrast to traditional CR procedures, which can be repetitive, causing a loss of interest on the part of patients, video games and VR systems offer the opportunity to participate in enjoyable tasks with a therapeutic purpose through physical interaction with the game. The design of exercise-based videogames (exergames) provides the possibility of practicing physical skills in an entertaining way and of adjusting the game according to the abilities of the subject and the level of intensity. In addition, it is known that the level of enjoyment of an activity has been identified as one of the predictive factors of the effectiveness of an exercise program, and for this reason, interactive technology based on exercise is becoming the all-time most popular strategy for the implementation of physical activity [17-23]. It is important to emphasize that VR allows the creation of environments suitable for activities related to CR. The users of these systems can develop simulated tasks and activities in a safe way, since the clinicians have the capacity to control the duration and intensity of the exercise and, in this way, to control and supervise the delivery of stimuli in the virtual environment [24]. Furthermore, knowledge of results regarding the performance of the task in real time, gained through extrinsic feedback, as well as the playful nature of the activities proposed through VR and videogame devices, generates a competitiveness and challenge component that further increases the degree of patient motivation. In this regard, Klasen et al. [25] point out that this increase in motivation is related to the influence of videogames on activation of the mesolimbic dopaminergic pathways and their repercussions on the reward system of the brain. All this promotes active participation on the part of the patient and thus increases adherence to the rehabilitation treatment. The aim of the present work is to carry out a RCT to provide information on the application of VR and videogame systems within CR programs in patients with cardiac diseases.