# CareConekta: Mobile health for a mobile population

> **NIH NIH R34** · VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $163,279

## Abstract

ABSTRACT
South Africa is home to the world's largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) program, but sustaining high retention
along the HIV care continuum has proven challenging in the country and throughout the wider region.
Population mobility is common in South Africa, but important research gaps exist describing this mobility and
its impact on engagement in HIV care. Postpartum women and their infants in South Africa are known to be at
high risk of dropping out of HIV care after delivery and are frequently mobile. We recently developed a beta
version of a smartphone application (app) – CareConekta – that detects a user's smartphone location to allow
for prospective characterization of mobility. Through this three-year award, we propose to adapt and test
CareConekta to conduct essential formative work on mobility and evaluate an intervention – the CareConekta
app plus text notifications and optional staff phone calls and/or WhatsApp messages – to facilitate engagement
in HIV care during times of mobility. During the three-year project period, we propose these aims: 1) adapt
CareConekta to use appropriate smartphone technology for the local population; 2) characterize mobility
among South African women during the peripartum period and its impact on engagement in HIV care; and 3)
evaluate the acceptability, feasibility, and initial efficacy of using CareConekta as an intervention to improve
engagement in HIV care. We will work with a South African technology company with a strong connection to
the South African Department of Health to adapt the app. We will observe mobility within an observational
cohort and will then assess the impact of the intervention among participants who travel during the study
period. This work is critical to adapting an existing app for widespread use, providing critical information about
mobility during the peripartum period and the impact on engagement in HIV care, and piloting an intervention
to improve engagement. This study will lay the necessary groundwork for a larger efficacy trial of the
intervention within different geographic settings.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10130394
- **Project number:** 5R34MH118028-03
- **Recipient organization:** VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Kate Clouse
- **Activity code:** R34 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $163,279
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-10 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10130394

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10130394, CareConekta: Mobile health for a mobile population (5R34MH118028-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-06-11 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10130394. Licensed CC0.

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