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Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool
This research presents a proposal for the assessment of technology to manage antiretroviral treatment. The system called Cell-Life has been successfully tested at a pilot site in Gugulethu, Cape Town from September 2002 till date and offers a cost-effective solution for adherence monitoring, side ef...
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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Department of Civil Engineering
2015
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| _version_ | 1867613273721929728 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author | Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt |
| author2 | Rivett, Ulrike |
| author_browse | Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt Rivett, Ulrike |
| author_facet | Rivett, Ulrike Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt |
| author_sort | Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | This research presents a proposal for the assessment of technology to manage antiretroviral treatment. The system called Cell-Life has been successfully tested at a pilot site in Gugulethu, Cape Town from September 2002 till date and offers a cost-effective solution for adherence monitoring, side effect management, effective home based care and reducing pill count dependence at the clinic. With the aid of the Cell-Life SIM card menu (please see Appendix A, page 63) on a cell-phone the therapeutic counsellor is equipped with a live-link to the clinic or doctor while visiting patients. The menu allows entering data about the patient's drug adherence, side effects and symptoms, scheduling visits to the clinic and alert messages. The data is sent using short message service (SMS) and stored in a database, which can be accessed via the Internet by a doctor who will receive a complete report on the patient's status quo. The main benefits of the system lie in creating a communication link between the clinic/doctor and the therapeutic counsellor at minimal cost. Another benefit is the collection of reliable data relating to drug adherence and the minimising of human error through preset menu options on the phone. The pilot study has shown that management of anti-retroviral therapy is possible in resource-constraint urban settings. But for a provincial or national rollout of the Cell-Life system, the challenge is the lack of the required infrastructure, technology, personnel and logistics for effective operation of the Cell-Life systems specifically in the rural areas of South Africa. This research investigated the availability of the Cell-Life requirements in the Western Cape. The findings showed that the Cell-Life systems could be implemented in the health regions investigated across the Western Cape. It was also shown that an in depth needs assessment study is required before implementing the Cell-Life system in any community. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15415 |
| institution | University of Cape Town (South Africa) |
| language | eng |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:33:31.121Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| publishDate | 2015 |
| publishDateRange | 2015 |
| publishDateSort | 2015 |
| publisher | Department of Civil Engineering |
| publisherStr | Department of Civil Engineering |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository |
| spelling | oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/15415 Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt Rivett, Ulrike HIV Infections Medication Adherence antiretroviral treatment Assistive technology This research presents a proposal for the assessment of technology to manage antiretroviral treatment. The system called Cell-Life has been successfully tested at a pilot site in Gugulethu, Cape Town from September 2002 till date and offers a cost-effective solution for adherence monitoring, side effect management, effective home based care and reducing pill count dependence at the clinic. With the aid of the Cell-Life SIM card menu (please see Appendix A, page 63) on a cell-phone the therapeutic counsellor is equipped with a live-link to the clinic or doctor while visiting patients. The menu allows entering data about the patient's drug adherence, side effects and symptoms, scheduling visits to the clinic and alert messages. The data is sent using short message service (SMS) and stored in a database, which can be accessed via the Internet by a doctor who will receive a complete report on the patient's status quo. The main benefits of the system lie in creating a communication link between the clinic/doctor and the therapeutic counsellor at minimal cost. Another benefit is the collection of reliable data relating to drug adherence and the minimising of human error through preset menu options on the phone. The pilot study has shown that management of anti-retroviral therapy is possible in resource-constraint urban settings. But for a provincial or national rollout of the Cell-Life system, the challenge is the lack of the required infrastructure, technology, personnel and logistics for effective operation of the Cell-Life systems specifically in the rural areas of South Africa. This research investigated the availability of the Cell-Life requirements in the Western Cape. The findings showed that the Cell-Life systems could be implemented in the health regions investigated across the Western Cape. It was also shown that an in depth needs assessment study is required before implementing the Cell-Life system in any community. 2015-11-27T11:07:31Z 2015-11-27T11:07:31Z 2003 Master Thesis Masters MSc http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15415 eng application/pdf Department of Civil Engineering Faculty of Engineering and the Built Environment University of Cape Town |
| spellingShingle | HIV Infections Medication Adherence antiretroviral treatment Assistive technology Nxumalo, Vusie Alvitt Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| thesis_degree_str | Master's |
| title | Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| title_full | Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| title_fullStr | Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| title_short | Cell-Life: a needs assessment study for an HIV/AIDS management tool |
| title_sort | cell life a needs assessment study for an hiv aids management tool |
| topic | HIV Infections Medication Adherence antiretroviral treatment Assistive technology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/11427/15415 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT nxumalovusiealvitt celllifeaneedsassessmentstudyforanhivaidsmanagementtool |