Text messaging support for patients with diabetes or coronary artery disease (SupportMe): protocol for a pragmatic randomised controlled trial

• Published in: BMJ open Vol. 9; no. 6; p. e025923
• Main Authors: Cheung, Ngai Wah, Redfern, Julie, Thiagalingam, Aravinda, Hng, Tien-Ming, Islam, Sheikh Mohammed Shariful, Haider, Rabbia, Faruquie, Sonia, Chow, Clara
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England BMJ Publishing Group LTD 01-06-2019; BMJ Publishing Group
• Subjects: Blood Pressure; Cardiovascular disease; Cellular telephones; Cholesterol, LDL; Chronic illnesses; Clinical outcomes; Coronary Artery Disease - therapy; Coronary vessels; Diabetes; Diabetes and Endocrinology; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 - therapy; Disease prevention; Education; Evidence-based medicine; Exercise; Glycated Hemoglobin; Health Behavior; Hospitals; Humans; Hypertension; Intervention; Life Style; Medication Adherence; Mortality; Motivation; Physical fitness; Pragmatic Clinical Trials as Topic; Quality of Life; Reminder Systems; Risk Factors; Self-Management; Smoking cessation; Surveillance; Systematic review; Telemedicine; Telemedicine - methods; Text Messaging; Tobacco; Waist Circumference; Australia; general diabetes; telemedicine; clinical trials; coronary heart disease
• ISSN: 2044-6055; 2044-6055
• DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2018-025923

IntroductionLow-cost interventions providing self-management support are needed for people with coronary artery disease (CAD) and diabetes. Mobile phone text messaging provides a potential vehicle for this. The SupportMe Trial aims to assess the feasibility of embedding a text messaging programme into routine clinical practice and will determine if this improves cardiovascular risk factor and diabetes control among patients with CAD or type 2 diabetes.Methods and analysisSupportMe is a randomised controlled trial to be conducted within the framework of a health district-wide integrated care programme for people with CAD or type 2 diabetes mellitus. One thousand subjects will be recruited, with at least 500 in each group. Intervention subjects will receive four text messages a week for 6 months, which provide advice, motivation, information and support for disease management and healthy behaviour. The primary outcome is systolic blood pressure at 6 months. Secondary outcomes include body mass index, waist circumference, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, physical activity levels, dietary intake, quality of life, mood and smoking cessation, and for subjects with diabetes, glycosylated haemoglobin and fasting serum glucose. A process and economic evaluation will also be conducted.Ethics and disseminationThe study has been approved by the Western Sydney Local Health District Human Research Ethics Committee (AU RED HREC/16/WMEAD/331). Results will be disseminated via the scientific forums including peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.Trial registration numberACTRN12616001689460.