Short message service as an alternative in the drug consumption evaluation of persons with tuberculosis in Malang, Indonesia.

AIM: Short message service (SMS) is an applied technology of communication that enables the transfer of information and can be used as a part of medical efforts to motivate clients to improve their behavior regarding drug consumption. This study attempts to observe the differences in patients' behavior as a result of either using SMS to motivate their drug consumption or by using only health providers and outreach workers to monitor them.

METHODS: This study used a post-test-only controlled-group design with a simple random sampling technique and was held in Malang, Indonesia. The sample in this study consisted of 45 patients with tuberculosis (TB) who received motivating SMS messages and 45 patients with only health providers and outreach workers to monitor them.

RESULTS: Fisher's Exact test using a 95% confidence interval showed that the result of this study had a P-value of 0.059, which means that there was no difference in compliance with drug consumption between the patients who received SMS messages and the patients who were under the supervision of health providers and outreach workers.

CONCLUSION: It is highly recommended that the application of SMS be included in TB treatment and the evaluation of patients as an alternative method of controlling patients' compliance with consuming anti-TB drugs at home.