Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN, USA
Vanderbilt Institute for Global Health, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, USA.
BMJ Open. 2022 Nov 22;12(11):e064946. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2022-064946.
Pregnant and postpartum women living with HIV in South Africa are at high risk of dropping out of care, particularly after delivery. Population mobility may contribute to disruptions in HIV care, and postpartum women are known to be especially mobile. To improve engagement in HIV care during the peripartum period, we developed CareConekta, a smartphone application (app) that uses GPS coordinates to characterise mobility and allow for real-time intervention. We conducted a randomised controlled pilot study to assess feasibility, acceptability and initial efficacy of the app intervention to improve engagement in HIV care. This cohort profile describes participant enrolment and follow-up, describes the data collected and provides participant characteristics.
We enrolled 200 pregnant women living with HIV attending routine antenatal care at the Gugulethu Midwife Obstetric Unit in Cape Town, South Africa. Eligible women must have owned smartphones that met the app's technical requirements. Seven participants were withdrawn near enrolment, leaving 193 in the cohort.
Data were collected from detailed participant questionnaires at enrolment and follow-up (6 months after delivery), as well as GPS data from the app, and medical records. Follow-up is complete; initial analyses have explored smartphone ownership, preferences and patterns of use among women screened for eligibility and those enrolled in the study.
Additional planned analyses will characterise mobility in the population using the phone GPS data and participant self-reported data. We will assess the impact of mobility on engagement in care for the mother and infant. We also will describe the acceptability and feasibility of the study, including operational lessons learnt. By linking this cohort to the National Health Laboratory Service National HIV Cohort in South Africa, we will continue to assess engagement in care and mobility outcomes for years to come. Collaborations are welcome.
NCT03836625.
南非感染艾滋病毒的孕妇和产后妇女在接受护理方面面临较高的脱落风险，尤其是在分娩后。人口流动可能会导致艾滋病毒护理中断，而且众所周知，产后妇女的流动性特别高。为了改善围产期艾滋病毒护理的参与度，我们开发了 CareConekta，这是一款使用 GPS 坐标来描述流动性并允许实时干预的智能手机应用程序。我们进行了一项随机对照试点研究，以评估该应用程序干预措施提高艾滋病毒护理参与度的可行性、可接受性和初步疗效。本研究队列描述了参与者的入组和随访情况，描述了所收集的数据，并提供了参与者的特征。
我们招募了 200 名在南非开普敦古古勒图助产产科单位接受常规产前护理的感染艾滋病毒的孕妇。符合条件的女性必须拥有符合应用程序技术要求的智能手机。在入组时，有 7 名参与者被撤回，因此队列中留下了 193 名参与者。
在入组和随访（分娩后 6 个月）时从详细的参与者问卷、应用程序的 GPS 数据以及医疗记录中收集了数据。随访已经完成；初步分析探索了筛查合格的女性和入组研究的女性的智能手机拥有情况、偏好和使用模式。
额外的计划分析将使用手机 GPS 数据和参与者自我报告的数据来描述人群的流动性。我们将评估母亲和婴儿的流动性对护理参与度的影响。我们还将描述研究的可接受性和可行性，包括从操作中吸取的经验教训。通过将本队列与南非国家卫生实验室服务国家艾滋病毒队列联系起来，我们将在未来几年继续评估护理参与度和流动性结果。欢迎合作。
NCT03836625。
