Digital Reminders Research Articles

Giving Voice to Clinical Study Participants: Development and Deployment of Sequential Patient Experience Surveys for Global Clinical Studies

BackgroundBiopharmaceutical companies are piloting patient experience surveys (PES) to help enhance patient satisfaction with clinical studies. However, most PES have been conducted at study close-out, which can hinder recall and responsiveness, and at a limited number of sites, which restricts their applicability to global studies. Our aim was to investigate the feasibility of developing sequential PES, which would be deployed globally, and to provide practical recommendations based on our real-world experience.MethodsTo develop sequential PES (introductory, interim, close-out), we customized a previously developed patient experience close-out survey. Extensive input was gained from multiple stakeholders (e.g., survey experts, patient advisors, psychometricians, clinical trialists, lawyers). To deploy the PES in global studies, we prepared PES-specific ethics committee submissions, training materials (e.g., slides, videos), and PES invitation aids (postcards, digital app reminders).ResultsDeveloping and deploying sequential PES in global clinical studies was feasible. The 3-part online PES (25 to 37 questions per survey) passed health literacy testing. To facilitate benchmarking, the PES included core questions (including a Net Promoter Score question). The PES gained ethics approval and was deployed globally in 2017–2018 in 12 phase 2 and 3 clinical studies in North America, Europe, and the Asia–Pacific. Based on the real-world insights gained and the challenges encountered, we have made recommendations for PES.ConclusionsOur practical recommendations on the development and deployment of sequential global PES may assist others to implement PES efficiently and effectively, allowing them to gain feedback from patients globally during clinical studies.

A systematic review of email-based reminder interventions to increase vaccine uptake

Abstract Introduction Reminder and recall interventions have been proven to be effective in increasing vaccination coverage. Emails are a popular mean of communication, and their use as a reminder method has many potential benefits: low costs, timely delivery and no restriction of content. Nevertheless, there is limited evidence that compares the advantages of using emails for vaccination reminders to other methods, on which extensive literature is already present. Methods We conducted a systematic review following the PRISMA guidelines to analyze evidence from peer-reviewed studies on the application of email-based interventions to immunization programs. We included any measure of vaccine uptake or immunization coverage, in any target population and settings. Results We included 11 studies in the final analysis, of which 9 were RCTs, 1 was a controlled trial and 1 a before and after study. Most studies were conducted in the US. Six studies had data on the uptake of influenza vaccination, three on HPV series completion, 1 on PPSV23, and 1 on vaccines recommended for adolescents. In 4 studies email reminders proved to be more effective in increasing vaccination uptake than no reminders. Five studies didn’t show advantages of using email reminders when compared to traditional methods (phone call, mail, paper card) and digital reminders (SMS, automated phone calls). In 1 study a significantly higher increase in uptake was achieved when combining emails with Interactive Voice Response phone calls. Finally, 2 studies compared different email models. Conclusions In conclusion, this review outlined that not enough evidence is available regarding the use of email reminders to increase vaccination uptake. Our findings suggest that the choice of reminder method should depend on the population, and future studies should analyze its cost-effectiveness and convenience in respect to other methods, and aim at improving the content of emails to increase their efficacy as a reminder method. Key messages Based on our review of available studies, not enough evidence is available to prove the efficacy of email reminders to increase vaccine uptake. Additional evidence is needed to analyze cost-effectiveness of email reminders, convenience in respect to other methods, and to improve their content to increase their efficacy as a reminder method.

Technology use to facilitate health care among young adult transgender women living with HIV

ABSTRACTLittle is known about how young adult transgender women living with HIV use digital technologies to facilitate their health care. This study examined the use of digital technologies to search for health information and support HIV care among young adult transgender women living with HIV (N = 130) in Los Angeles County, California. About half used the Internet “all the time” to search for transgender-specific resources (TSR; 53.8%) and for sexual health information (SHI; 51.5%). Less than half (39.2%) received digital HIV care reminders and, of those taking ART medication (n = 63), 36.5% received digital medication reminders. Internet information search was associated with Hispanic/Latina ethnicity (TSR: OR = 0.23, 95% CI [0.09, 0.58]; SHI: OR = 0.29, 95% CI [0.12, 0.73]) and higher (≥ $500) past-month income (TSR: OR = 2.67, 95% CI [1.13, 6.34]; SHI: OR = 2.67, 95% CI [1.14, 6.26]); receiving digital medication reminders with post-secondary educational attainment (OR = 5.70, 95% CI [1.04, 31.19]) and higher income (OR = 6.73, 95% CI [1.52, 29.67]). Receiving analog, but not digital, HIV care reminders was associated with engagement in HIV care (OR = 2.37, 95% CI [1.13, 5.00]) and ART uptake (OR = 2.18, 95% CI [1.06, 4.48]. Digital technology use was common for health-related searches but not for supporting HIV care.

How to Remember What to Remember

Digital reminder systems typically use time and place as triggers to remind people to perform activities. In this paper, we investigate how digital reminder systems could better support the process of remembering in a wider range of situations. We report findings from a survey and one-week diary study, which reveal that people want to remember to perform a broad spectrum of activities in the future, many of which cannot be supported by simple time- and location-based reminders. In addition to these examples of prospective memory, or ‘remembering intentions’ [53], we also find that people want support in ‘retrieving’ [53] information and details, especially those encountered through social interactions or intended for use in conversations with others. Drawing on our analysis of what people want to remember and how they try to support this, we draw implications for the design of intelligent reminder systems such as digital assistants (e.g. Microsoft’s Cortana) and smart speaker systems (e.g. Amazon Echo), and highlight the possibilities afforded by drawing on conversation and giving material form to digital reminders.

Social Pressure on Social Media: Using Facebook Status Updates to Increase Voter Turnout

The widespread adoption of the Internet offers tangible potential for increasing political participation through disseminating digital reminders to vote. This study presents three experiments in which confederates mobilize members of their networks to vote by tagging them in Facebook status updates. Relying on the technological affordances of Facebook, treatments publicize individuals' past participation or failure to vote in an ongoing election. The results show substantial increases in turnout greater than that which is usually produced by face-to-face methods. Findings suggest that digital media offer citizens the potential to generate tremendous gains in voter participation, and address concerns that our increasingly digitally networked society may prove harmful to democracy.