Digital technologies support patients with treatment from a distance, allowing more flexibility in care
As the Unitaid-funded ASCENT project launches the main research phase, investigating the effectiveness of digital adherence technologies and data-driven support interventions on TB treatment completion and success rates, Unitaid asked the researchers leading the study to tell more about their work and its potential impact.
Three digital adherence technologies – smart pillboxes, video supported treatment and medication labels or sleeves – connect patients remotely to health centres, allowing patients flexibility in their treatment while ensuring clinics can track patients’ adherence and provide tailored care where needed.
The project is piloting the use of these three technologies in five countries – the Philippines, Ukraine, South Africa, Tanzania and Ethiopia – with the aim of improving treatment success through person-centred solutions.
Unitaid spoke with lead researchers on the project, Jens Levy of the KNCV Tuberculosis Foundation, as well as Katherine Fielding and Amare Tadesse of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), as they begin their research across the five countries.
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Source: Unitaid
