Increasing guardians’ adherence to children’s follow-up care after treatment for leukemia in Tanzania: Development and feasibility of a mobile Health intervention

The overall aim is to respond to poor adherence to children’s follow-up care and an unmet need of information and emotional support among guardians of children treated for leukemia in Tanzania with mobile Health (mHealth) to increase guardians’ adherence to children’s follow-up care; and as a secondary target decrease psychological distress.Specific goals are to explore guardians’ needs and preferences concerning follow-up care reminders, information, and emotional support (Study I, months 0-12); co-design an mHealth intervention providing guardians with reminders, information, and emotional support and identify acceptable and relevant procedures for Study III (II, 9-24); and examine uncertainties with the intervention and methods to inform the design and conduct of a future pilot RCT (III, 22-36).

Study I has an explorative, qualitative design; Study II uses Participatory Action Research; and Study III is a single-arm pre-post mixed methods pragmatic feasibility trial.The research is conducted by a multi-professional team from Sweden, Tanzania, and the UK representing Clinical Psychology, Global Health, Information Systems, and Nursing.To increase likelihood of real-world impact guardians of children treated for leukemia are involved as research partners.The research is clinically important and relevant; has potential to benefit Tanzanian families struck by leukemia and contribute to long-term capacity building of healthcare services and research in Tanzania.