Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether patients with first-episode psychosis who were seeking treatment at a regional tertiary psychiatric facility for the first time would be more likely to attend their next scheduled clinic visit after receiving short message service (SMS) reminders about the upcoming appointment.
Methods: Two hundred patients seeking treatment for a psychotic episode for the first time were randomly assigned to a control group or an intervention group by using simple randomization. Both groups received appointment dates on appointment cards, and the intervention group also received SMS text reminders of their appointments. Proportion of missed next appointments was the primary outcome measured.
Results: A total of 192 patients were included in a per-protocol analysis. A majority of them were single and cared for by a first-degree relative. The mean±SD age of the patients was 33.7±11.9 years. The median duration of untreated psychosis was 12 weeks, and the mean score on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale was 47.3±12.9 (possible scores range from 13 to 168). Participants who received the SMS reminders were almost twice as likely to attend their appointment compared with the control group. After adjusting for sociodemographic and clinical variables, the analysis showed that receiving an SMS reminder independently reduced the risk of a missed next appointment by 50%.
Conclusions: SMS reminders of appointments were an effective intervention to improve clinic attendance among persons treated for first-episode psychosis at the Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital in Benin City, Nigeria.
Keywords: Appointments; Clinic Visits; Nigeria; Outpatient Clinic; Psychosis; Text Messages.