Eyal Oren, Ph.D.

While one-third of the world's population is currently infected with the TB germ, only about 10% of those infected will develop tuberculosis (TB) disease. The remaining 90% have latent TB, meaning their immune system can successfully fight the infection. Treatment of latent TB with an antibiotic reduces the risk it will progress to active disease. However, since these individuals feel well and have to take the medication for many months, as few as one-third complete treatment. We will investigate whether daily text message reminders help people to take their medication, preferences for receiving the messages, and whether this approach is affordable for tuberculosis clinics.

Update: We have completed our form and database development, created a web-based texting application and have begun participant enrollment in our study. We plan to continue exploring the acceptability and feasibility of a texting intervention for increasing latent TB treatment adherence.