Table 1. Studies included in synthesis in reverse chronological order.

Lead Author (publication date) Intervention/Study name Design	Technology	Sample [Dates of implementation/data collection]	Intervention	Outcomes End-point findings	Effect on Adherence; Effect on VL or CD4
Sabin (2015) [21] China Adherence through Technology RCT	EDM	China: 120 adults enrolled (116 analyzed: 62 in intervention and 54 in control arms) stratified by prior 3 month EDM history (>=95% and <95% within dose time (+/- 1-hour) adherence) [Dec 2012 - April 2013]	6 months of Wisepill monitoring with individualized reminders triggered by late (>30 minutes) dosing with data informed counseling implemented in conjunction with clinical care visits. Messages were selected by participants from a pre-specified list of 10 options that had been developed by clinicians and patients that did not refer to HIV (e.g., “Be healthy, have a happy family”). Individual counseling used the Wisepill data to explore barriers to adherence and help participants to develop strategies to improve adherence and were generally brief (15-20 minutes).	9 months (6 months on intervention) Significant effect on percent with optimal in dose time adherence (87% versus 52%, p< .001) which was evident in both participants non-adherent at baseline (78% vs 33%; p= .003) and those who were adherent at baseline (92% versus 63%; p= .002); Trend towards improvements in CD4 counts and non-significant for viral load.	YES; TREND
Robbins (2015) [12] Masivukeni RCT	Computer software	South Africa: 55 non-adherent (<90% on clinic-based pill count, detectable viral load or other clinical signs of non-adherence) adults [August 2008-April 2010]	Masivukeni - multimedia computer used by lay counselor and patient, and patient's treatment partner.	5-6 week post baseline 20 participants with available data (10 per arm) showed 10% improvement in adherence (pill count based) for intervention arm and decrease of 8% in control condition (p= .17).	TREND; NR
Cote (2015) [13] VIH-TAVIE RCT- Quasi-experimental	Internet/Website	Canada: 179 treatment experienced adults (99 in intervention arm clinic; 80 in control arm clinic) [dates not reported]	Virus de I'immunodeficience humaine-Traitment assistance virtualle infirmiere et enseignement – VIH-TAVIE: Virtual follow-up targeting support focused on developing self-assessment skills, motivation, positive imagery, emotional management, coping, problem-solving and skills to interact with health care teams.	6 months GEE on self-reported adherence over time showed both groups improved over 3 and 6 months (p=.17)	NO; NR
Kurth (2014) [10] CARE+ RCT	Computer Software	US: 240 (209 reaching 9m) adults randomly assigned to CARE+ (N=118) or SOC (N=120) [dates not reported]	Computerized counseling program with an audio avatar guiding participants through 4 multicomponent sessions targeted adherence and sexual risk reduction through use of tailored feedback, videos of peers and professionals, planning activities, and printouts based on information, motivation and behavioral skills building and delivered with motivational interviewing strategies	9 months Significant impact on increased VAS adherence over time (p= .046) and trends on decreased in viral load between study arms (p= .053); subgroup analyses among those entering the study with detectable viral load showed significant gains in adherence (p= .04) and decreases in viral load (p= .04).	YES: MIXED
Shet (2014) [20] HIVIND RCT	Mobile phone-messaging voice	India: 631 ART naive adults (315 in intervention arm; 316 in control arm) followed for 96 weeks [July 2010 – August 2011]	Customized, automated voice reminders asking about dosing sent weekly with a pictorial text sent weekly. Texts required response with calls repeated up to three times in 24 hours if no response.	96 weeks (∼24 months) Participants did not differ on pill-count assessed adherence (p= .14) or virologic failure (p= .95).	NO; NO
Belzer (2014) [16] RCT	Mobile phone-counseling	US: 37 non-adherent (<90% adherent on self-report, viral load > 1000, non-persistent or delayed in starting ART) young adults (19 in intervention arm [14 with data at 48 weeks]; 18 in control arm [17 with data at 48 weeks]) [2010]	One to two daily phone calls Monday through Friday made to participants' own mobile phone or a study provided phone matched to ART dosing schedules where an ‘adherence facilitator’ (typically a research assistant) followed a script in assessing medication dosing, problem solving and providing appropriate referrals to resources or services.	48-weeks (∼11 months) VAS on last weekend, last 7-days, last month and last 3-months significantly better in intervention arm at weeks 24 and 48. 43% of the intervention arm participants contributing to week 48 data (8/14) reported >=90% adherence while only 6% of those in the control arm met this criteria (1/17, p= .03); Mean viral load and percent undetectable at <400 significantly better in intervention arm at 24 (p= .002) and 48 weeks (p= .043).	YES; YES
Claborn (2013) [9] eLifeSteps RCT	Computer software	US: 92 adults with self-reported adherence <95% randomized to intervention (evaluated N=47) versus standard of care (evaluated N=50) [dates not reported]	Adaptation of LifeSteps to a single session intervention with 10 steps targeting education, retention (transportation to appointments), obtaining medications, communication with healthcare team, coping with side-effects, creation of a daily medication schedule, medication storage, use of dosing cues and managing “slips” in adherence	1-month Intervention arm participants trended towards higher self-reported adherence at 1-month follow-up compared to control arm. (p = .056)	TREND; NR
Maduka (2013) [19] RCT	Mobile phone-messaging text	Nigeria: 104 adults non-adherent (estimated adherence < 95%) adults (52 in intervention arm and 52 in control arm) [dates not reported]	A cognitive intervention session conducted by a junior resident doctor (45-60 minutes) followed by twice weekly (Monday and Thursday mornings) text messaging of an adherence focused message with a reminder to take medications implemented for 4 months.	4 months Self-reported adherence at 4 months was significantly (77% versus 56%; p= .022) higher in the intervention condition and chart extracted median CD4 was significantly higher in intervention arm (p= .0007)	YES; YES
Hersch (2013) [14] Life-Steps for Managing Medication and Stress RCT	Internet/Website	US: 168 adults enrolled; 164 analyzed (87 in intervention arm; 77 in control arm) [July 2010 – October 2011]	A web-based version of the LifeSteps intervention with added components for stress and mood management for a total of 10 LifeSteps modules and 9 Stress Management modules.	9 months MEMs adherence at 3, 6, and 9 months; Sig effects on adh and viral load	YES; MIXED
Horvath (2013) [15] Thrive with Me RCT	Internet/Website	US: 124 MSM reporting imperfect adherence in the past month recruited online and randomly assigned to control (57) or intervention (67: 66 analyzed) [dates not reported]	A full website with an exchange board (participants could post messages to one another monitored by study staff), an online profile that tracks “Thrive points” earned to date (earned by logging into the program) and has an interactive medication schedule that monitored weekly adherence with optional medication dosing SMS or email reminders which would populate their adherence graph with collected dosing data, and access to video segments, brief HIV related articles, and links to other webpages and resources	12 weeks (∼3 months) Total self-reported adherence in last month did not significantly differ between arms at 12 weeks although a trend for in-time adherence (p = .095) and significant gains in with-requirements adherence (p=.04) were reported; subgroup effect among substance users (90% vs 58%) was reported (p= .02)	MIXED; NR
Huang (2013) [17] RCT	Mobile phone-counseling	China: 93 Tx experienced (46 enrolled in intervention with 40 analyzed; 47 in control with 42 analyzed) and 103 treatment naïve (52 enrolled in intervention with 47 analyzed; 51 in control with 43 analyzed) [2011]	Mobile phone calls with nurse or clinic staff placed every two-weeks targeting exploration of barriers in getting to care, adherence, side-effects and any difficulties with either adherence or retention in HIV-care with up to 4 additional calls placed if participant could not be reached.	3 months CD4 counts and self-reported adherence did not significantly differ between groups. Self-reported adherence remained high in both groups. Secondary significant effects on quality of life dimensions among treatment naïve were reported.	NO; NR
Naar-King (2013) [11] MESA RCT	Computer software	US: 76 young adults new to ART (36 in intervention condition; 40 in the time, attention and modality matched condition) [dates not reported]	2 session computer delivered MI adherence intervention that uses feedback based on collected assessments from participants as they engage in the intervention, and engages participant in fostering motivation through MI strategies, with several opportunities for choice and autonomy building.	6 months Viral load and self-reported adherence over the past week measured at baseline, 3 and 6 months suggested intervention arm participants had better viral control at 6 months, as well as higher adherence. Effect sizes were moderate to large- no p values calculated	YES: YES as effect size estimates
Lewis (2013) [18] Within groups	Mobile phone-messaging text	US: Within group study of 52 MSM (46 competing 3 month follow-up) [July – October 2010]	Dynamic tailored text messaging sent around dose times with messages tailored to reflect encouragement of excellent adherence or increasing adherence based on SMS collected self-reported number of doses missed in the past week, collected each Sunday of the 3 month intervention.	3 months Significant effects on self-reported adherence (p= .04), as well as viral load (p= .01) and CD4 (p= .04), which were stronger when evaluated only among those entering study with higher viral load and lower CD4 counts.	YES; YES