ClinicalTrials.gg
CompletedNCT03344900Updated Dec 11, 2019

Re-Aiming at Hydroxyurea Adherence for Sickle Cell With mHealth

An observational study in Sickle Cell Disease, sponsored by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Completed at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 15 Years to 44 Years. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2019-12-11.

Sponsored by St. Jude Children's Research Hospital · Observational

Study type
Observational
Model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
100
Ages
15 Years to 44 Years
Sex
All
01

Study summary

National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend that hydroxyurea be offered to symptomatic adults and all children with sickle cell disease (SCD) (HbSS and HbSβ0-thal genotypes) age ≥9 months. Research has shown that hydroxyurea reduces hospitalizations and mortality, supporting its effectiveness outside of clinical trials. Hydroxyurea is given as a once-daily oral dose that costs \<$1 per day. Despite overwhelming evidence for positive effects, hydroxyurea is vastly underutilized. Given the relative ease of its administration, low cost, and safety profile, barriers to hydroxyurea utilization are primarily constrained to the health system and patient determinants. System-level barriers include insufficient access to SCD-specific care, limited access to medication (due to lack of health coverage), and providers' reluctance in prescribing it; while patient-level barriers include low acceptance (due to insufficient knowledge or misconceptions regarding risks and benefits), and forgetfulness leading to poor adherence.

Mobile health (mHealth) refers to the practice of medicine and public health supported by mobile devices. Short message service (SMS) text messaging (through cell phones) is a widespread means of communication, particularly among adolescents and young adults and is an emerging intervention modality to improve medication adherence. Its low cost, simplicity, and prevalence allow for relatively easy adoption and dissemination in medical practices.

This protocol seeks to examine barriers to hydroxyurea adherence among SCD patients between 15 and 45 years of age who are living in the Memphis region by conducting a needs assessment. In addition to examining these barriers, the needs assessment will provide data that will inform the development of an mHealth application (e.g. mobile phone application) for assisting patients in increasing their medication adherence. The developed mHealth intervention will then undergo a pilot trial to test its acceptability, satisfaction, and feasibility among 56 patients living with SCD.

  • To conduct multi-level needs assessment of hydroxyurea utilization barriers and facilitators, in Memphis, Tennessee (Phase I).
  • To test the feasibility and acceptance of a patient-informed smart phone application aimed at improving hydroxyurea adherence in the Memphis, Tennessee region, and to estimate the efficacy parameters needed to design a definitive large phase III trial (Phase II).
Read the detailed description

Data for the needs assessment and pilot trial will be collected from the patients via validated surveys, qualitative methods (e.g., interviews and focus groups), and medical record abstraction.

The study will utilize a Hybrid Effectiveness-Implementation design that will blend both a new intervention to impact the effectiveness of hydroxyurea, text messaging, and study its potential for adoption and dissemination in "real-world" practice settings. In Phase I (formative process evaluation), actionable barriers of hydroxyurea adherence in Memphis, Tennessee, will be identified. The investigators will begin by conducting a broad evaluation of hydroxyurea utilization, impediments and facilitators of hydroxyurea adherence and care management in general for patients with SCD. Next, this information will be merged with patients' preferences for the content of an mHealth intervention, and test it in a local cohort (Phase II). If successful and approved by the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC) executive committee, this intervention will advance to the next phase, namely, the dissemination and implementation in a larger geographical area (the other SCDIC participating sites in Phase III). We will utilize the RE-AIM framework to evaluate the intervention representativeness and impact during all phases.

02

Conditions studied

  • Sickle Cell Disease

Keywords

  • mHealth
  • Medication adherence
  • Barriers to adherence
03

In context

Anemia, Sickle Cell

1,134 studies on the registry are indexed under Anemia, Sickle Cell; 238 are open to participants now.

This study's enrollment of 100 is close to the median of 100 across 296 observational studies indexed under Anemia, Sickle Cell.

Browse Anemia, Sickle Cell studies →

Lead sponsor

St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is the lead sponsor of 440 studies on the registry; 102 are open to participants now.

Of its 61 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 37 (61%) have results posted.

Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.

04

Who can participate

Ages eligible
15 Years to 44 Years
Sexes eligible
All
Accepts healthy volunteers
No
Sampling method
Non-probability sample

Study population

Participants will reside in the Memphis, Tennessee, area and meet the inclusion criteria.

Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.

Inclusion criteria

  • Diagnosis of sickle cell disease (any genotype)
  • Between the ages of 15 and 44.9 years
  • English-speaking

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Inability or unwillingness of research participant or legal guardian/representative to give written
Terms in these criteria, in plain language(1)

Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.

Informed consent

Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.

You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.

05

Study design

Observational model
Cohort
Time perspective
Prospective
Enrollment
100 participants (actual)
Patient registry
No

Groups and cohorts

  • Phase I

    It is estimated that 100 participants with SCD will be enrolled for the Phase I portion which will identify barriers to hydroxyurea utilization.

  • Phase II

    It is estimated that 72 participants with SCD will be enrolled for the Phase II portion of the study which will evaluate the degree of feasibility and acceptance of mHealth intervention on hydroxyurea adherence.

06

What researchers measure

Primary outcomes

  1. Compare the number of patients with hydroxyurea barriers or facilitators in hydroxyurea maintenance users and hydroxyurea former users/non-users (Phase I)

    Multi-level needs assessment of hydroxyurea utilization barriers and facilitators, in Memphis, Tennessee, will be conducted to identify potential factors that affect the barriers or facilitators of hydroxyurea acceptance and that affect the adherence/maintenance of hydroxyurea. Enrollment for Phase I is estimated to be 100. The numbers of patients with barriers or facilitators in hydroxyurea maintenance users and hydroxyurea former users/non-users will be provided and will be compared using Fisher's exact text. This will be done via questionnaires with individuals living with sickle cell disease.

    Time frame: From on-study date up to 12 months later

  2. Number of participants who are enrolled and randomized on the study (Phase II)

    In terms of feasibility of enrollment and randomization, that is, we will assess if we can enroll and randomize 40% (versus an unacceptable rate of 30%) of the approached eligible individuals (56 patients out of 150 approached) in the 24-month accrual duration.

    Time frame: From study start date through up to 24 months later

  3. Number of randomized patients completing baseline and 24-week evaluations for both arms

    In terms of the feasibility of conducting a randomized trial, that is, after randomization, per each arm, we will assess if we can have 75% (versus an unacceptable rate of 50%) of randomized individuals (19 patients out of 28 randomized per arm) will complete at least baseline and 24-week evaluations.

    Time frame: From on-study date up to 24 weeks later

  4. Compare the number of participants who report themHealth intervention is useful

    Measure the patients' perceived usefulness of mHealth intervention as an aid to hydroxyurea adherence. The proportions of patients who reported the mHealth intervention is useful at weeks 12 and 24 will be provided and will be tested to see if it is significantly different from random at a significance level of 0.05.

    Time frame: Weeks 12 and 24

  5. The mean and standard deviation of change in satisfaction with mHealth intervention

    Measure satisfaction of the intervention by comparing the change in satisfaction measured by the Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication (TSQM-9) from baseline to 24 weeks. The change in satisfaction from baseline to 24 weeks will be summarized using mean and standard deviation in the text messaging arm and will be tested using t-test or Wilcoxon signed rank test depending on the normality of the data tested by Shapiro Wilk test at a significance level of 0.05.

    Time frame: From on-study date up to 24 weeks

07

Study locations

2 sites
  • St. Jude Children's Research Hospital
    Memphis, Tennessee 38105, United States
  • Baptist Memorial Hospital, Baptist Clinical Research Institute
    Memphis, Tennessee 38120, United States
08

References and documents

09

Updates

Tracking since Sep 25, 2026
No changes since tracking began. The registry record was last updated on Dec 11, 2019, before this site started recording changes on Sep 25, 2026. Its history is on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
10

Registry details

Key details

Study ID
NCT03344900
Collaborators
University of Memphis, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Responsible party
Sponsor
First posted
Nov 17, 2017
Start date
Dec 5, 2017
Primary completion
Jun 28, 2018
Completion
Jun 28, 2018
Last update
Dec 11, 2019

Study contacts

Jane S. Hankins, MD, MS
principal investigator · St. Jude Children's Research Hospital

Oversight

Data monitoring committee
No
FDA-regulated drug
No
FDA-regulated device
No
View the source record on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗

Not currently enrolling

This study is completed, as verified in Nov 2019. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.

Follow this study

Get an email when the registry record changes — status, dates, results — or when someone posts here.

Sign in to follow

Discussion

Questions and observations about this study, from anyone following it. Not medical advice, and not a channel to the study team — their contact details are on the registry record.

Sign in to join the discussion. Reading takes no account; posting does. You choose a display name, and a pseudonym is the default.

Nothing here yet. If you are running this trial, taking part in it, or weighing whether to, this is the place to say so.

Start the discussion