Hypertensive patients’ readiness to use of mobile phones and other information technological modes for improving their compliance to doctors’ advice in Karachi

OBJECTIVE To determine the use of information technology (IT) & electronic media for improving compliance rate to doctors' advice in hypertensive patients in Karachi. METHODS Total 400 persons (200 males & 200 females) were randomly selected in six districts of Karachi. Data was collected through a pretested questionnaire. Following was sample criteria: age above 15 years, living in Karachi and ambulatory. Persons admitted in a hospital, individuals who were doing some physical activity during survey e.g. exercise, labor work etc., individual in stressed condition, non-cooperative individuals - not willing to get BP checked and fill questionnaire, and pregnant women were excluded. Those who did not sign the consent form were also excluded. SPSS was used for data analysis and descriptive statistics was employed for sensitivity analysis. RESULTS For healthcare awareness, people look for health programs on radio and TV channels. Short Message Service (SMS) and phone are highly appreciated by patients for reminders. To increase compliance to doctors' advice, less educated people prefer phone calls over SMS whereas educated individuals favor SMS. Although price of medicine has not emerged as a major contributing factor for non-compliance, discount on medicinal products is highly appreciated by the patients. CONCLUSION The study concludes that there is a widespread awareness of high blood pressure in the sample population of Karachi e.g. 72.5%. People consider reminder message system i.e. Calls and Short Messaging Service (SMS) would help them in improving compliance to doctors' advice.