Development and Evaluation of a Smartphone Application for Tuberculosis Education and Treatment Adherence

This study aimed to develop, evaluate, and assess knowledge regarding the prevention of transmission and medication adherence in patients with TB through the Application to Interventions and Learn Tuberculosis (AILs TB). The Delphi study was conducted in 3 phases. The first phase involved content development using the Delphi method, which was carried out in 3 rounds with 13 experts to reach a consensus on the prevention of transmission and medication adherence. The second phase involved the application development process carried out by IT experts, which was evaluated by 4 experts using a content validity index (CVI). The third phase consisted of a pilot study involving 15 patients with TB in both the intervention and control groups, selected based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria to assess changes in knowledge about prevention, transmission, and medication adherence. The Delphi study results identified 9 themes for consensus on the prevention of transmission and 12 for consensus on treatment adherence, with a CVI value >80%. In addition, the pilot study indicated an increase in patients' knowledge after receiving education through the AILs TB application (P=.001). The AILs TB application, developed based on consensus results, enhances knowledge about the prevention of transmission and treatment adherence among patients with TB.