Mobile Apps in Rural South Africa: Adherence and Outcomes for Tuberculosis Treatment Monitoring

Mobile apps have gained traction in healthcare monitoring worldwide, particularly for chronic diseases such as tuberculosis (TB). In rural South Africa, where access to healthcare is limited, mobile health apps offer a promising solution for improving adherence and outcomes. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving a survey of 300 randomly selected TB patients who used mobile apps for treatment monitoring and interviews with healthcare providers to gather qualitative insights. Adherence rates were significantly higher (p<0.05) among app users compared to traditional follow-up methods. Clinical outcomes showed a reduction in the incidence of drug-resistant strains by 30% over six months. Mobile apps appear effective for enhancing adherence and clinical management of TB treatment in rural South Africa, though further research is needed to validate these findings across diverse settings. Given the positive outcomes observed, it is recommended that mobile app solutions be integrated into standard healthcare protocols for TB treatment in rural areas. Future studies should focus on scalability and cost-effectiveness. Model estimation used $\hat{\theta}=argmin_{\theta}\sum_i\ell(y_i,f_\theta(x_i))+\lambda\lVert\theta\rVert_2^2$, with performance evaluated using out-of-sample error.