Table 2 Study design characteristics of included RCTs
Study | Location | Income group | Conditions | Place of recruitment | Inclusion criteria | Sample size | Mean Age (Intervention; control) | Planned Follow-up | Measured outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balsa and Gandel-man [25] | Uruguay (urban) | UMIC | Type 2 Diabetes | Waiting rooms of internists treating diabetic patients at three HMOs in Montevideo | Adult patients with Diabetes 2; Access to Internet (at least once a week) | 195 (intervention) 193 (control) | n/d | 6 months | Clinical, Others |
Shetty et al. [26] | India (urban) | LMIC | Diabetes | Patients at a diabetes centre in Chennai | Type 2 Diabetes with a minimum duration of 5 years; Minimum of high school Education; HbA1c value ranging between 7 % to 10 % | 110 (intervention) 105 (control) | 50.1; 50.5 | 1 year | Clinical, Compliance |
Liew et al. [30] | Malaysia (urban) | UMIC | Different chronic diseases (mainly NCDs) | Two primary care clinics in Kuala Lumpur | Registered with the clinics for at least 6 months; return appointment between 1 and 6 months; ownership of a mobile phone | 314 (telephone) 398 (text mesages) 309 (control) | 57.7; 58.1; 60.7 | At least 6 months | Compliance |
Liu et al. [28] | Taiwan (urban) | UMIC | Asthma | Outpatient clinics of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, northern Taiwan | Moderate to severe Asthma | 43 (intervention) 46 (control) | 54; 50 | 6 months | Clinical, Compliance, QoL |
Ostojic et al. [29] | Croatia (urban) | UMIC | Asthma | General Hospital “SvetiDuh”, Zagreb | Moderate Asthma for at least 6 months; consistent access to a cellphone, able to use text messages | 8 (intervention) 8 (control) | 24.5; 24.8 | 16 weeks | Clinical, Compliance, Costs |
Piette et al. [23] | Honduras (rural), Mexico (urban) | UMIC, LMIC | Hypertension | Four private and two public clinics in Cortes, Honduras and one primary care center in Real de Monte | SBP > = 130 mm Hg if diabetic and SBP > = 140 mm Hg if non-diabetic; between 18 and 80 years; access to a cellphone and able to use it | 89 (intervention) 92 (control) | 58.0; 57.1 | 6 weeks | Clinical, Others |
Shahid et al. [27] | Pakistan (rural) | LMIC | Diabetes | Department of Endocrinology, Liaquat National Hospital | Patients between 18–70 years, residing in rural areas of Pakistan, HbA1c ≥ 8.0 % and having personal functional mobile phone | 220 (intervention) 220 (control) | 48.95; 49.21 | 6 months | Clinical, Compliance |
Tian et al. [24] | China (rural), India (rural) | UMIC, LMIC | Cardiovascular Diseases | CHWs at 27 villages from 15 townships in China and 20 villages in Haryana State, India | High cardiovascular risk individuals: above 40 years and a self-reported history of coronary disease | 1095 (intervention); 991 (control) | 59.7; 60.4 | One year | Clinical, Compliance |