Mobile phone interventions for tuberculosis should ensure access to mobile phones to enhance equity - a prospective, observational cohort study in Peruvian shantytowns

Objectives\ud \ud Mobile phone interventions have been advocated for tuberculosis care, but little is known about access of target populations to mobile phones. We studied mobile phone access amongst patients with tuberculosis, focusing on vulnerable patients and patients who later had adverse treatment outcomes. \ud \ud \ud Methods\ud \ud In a prospective cohort study in Callao, Peru, we recruited and interviewed 2,584 patients with tuberculosis between 2007‐2013 and followed them until 2016 for adverse treatment outcomes using national treatment registers. Subsequently, we recruited a further 622 patients between 2016‐2017. Data were analysed using logistic regression and by calculating relative risks (RR). \ud \ud \ud Results\ud \ud Between 2007‐2013, the proportion of the general population of Peru without mobile phone access averaged 7.8% but for patients with tuberculosis was 18% (p