International Health Promotion Research Articles

Text Messaging in Healthcare: The Elephant Knocking at the Door

Telemedicine and e-HealthVol. 14, No. 6 MEDICAL CONNECTIVITYText Messaging in Healthcare: The Elephant Knocking at the DoorMark TerryMark TerrySearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:26 Aug 2008https://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2008.8495AboutSectionsPDF/EPUB ToolsPermissionsDownload CitationsTrack CitationsAdd to favorites Back To Publication ShareShare onFacebookTwitterLinked InRedditEmail FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsCited byText Messages in the Field of Mental Health: Rapid Review of the Reviews24 June 2022 | Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol. 13Impact of mhealth messages and environmental cues on hand hygiene practice among healthcare workers in the greater Kampala metropolitan area, Uganda: study protocol for a cluster randomized trial26 January 2021 | BMC Health Services Research, Vol. 21, No. 1Outcome of reminder text messages intervention on completion of routine immunization in rural areas, Nigeria15 October 2020 | Health Promotion International, Vol. 36, No. 3Text4Support Mobile-Based Programming for Individuals Accessing Addictions and Mental Health Services—Retroactive Program Analysis at Baseline, 12 Weeks, and 6 Months28 May 2021 | Frontiers in Psychiatry, Vol. 12Factors Influencing Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare EnvironmentmHealth2 December 2021“The flu… is a little more complicated than a cold”: Knowledge, beliefs, and practices related to influenza and influenza vaccination among at-risk populations and health professionals in PeruVaccine, Vol. 38, No. 48The Effects of Lifestyle Intervention using Modified BASNEF Model in Hypertension Management: A Quasi-Experimental Study (Preprint)15 May 2020 | JMIR CardiomHealth30 May 2020Changes in Stress, Anxiety, and Depression Levels of Subscribers to a Daily Supportive Text Message Program (Text4Hope) During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Cross-Sectional Survey Study18 December 2020 | JMIR Mental Health, Vol. 7, No. 12mHealth20 May 2019Increasing Perioperative Communication With Automated Mobile Phone Messaging in Total Joint ArthroplastyThe Journal of Arthroplasty, Vol. 33, No. 1Mobile phone messaging for illicit drug and alcohol dependence: A systematic review of the literature5 May 2017 | Drug and Alcohol Review, Vol. 36, No. 4Impact of Trust and Technology on Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare SettingsInternational Journal of e-Collaboration, Vol. 13, No. 2Developing a mHealth intervention to promote uptake of HIV testing among African communities in the UK: a qualitative study28 July 2016 | BMC Public Health, Vol. 16, No. 1Short Text Messages (SMS) as an Additional Tool for Notifying Medical Staff in Case of a Hospital Mass Casualty Incident12 October 2015 | Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, Vol. 10, No. 1New Directions for Engaging Patients on Weight Management for General Pediatricians3 April 2015 | Current Treatment Options in Pediatrics, Vol. 1, No. 2User preferences for text message-delivered skin cancer prevention and early detection19 February 2015 | Journal of Telemedicine and Telecare, Vol. 21, No. 4Beyond mobile populations: a critical review of the literature on malaria and population mobility and suggestions for future directions9 August 2014 | Malaria Journal, Vol. 13, No. 1Recommendations for Professional Use of Social Media, Digital Technology, and the InternetM-Health Technology as a Transforming Force for Population HealthMobile Health in China: A Review of Research and Programs in Medical Care, Health Education, and Public HealthJournal of Health Communication, Vol. 18, No. 11Enterprise Transformation Through Mobile ICT: a Framework and Case Study in HealthcareJournal of Enterprise Transformation, Vol. 2, No. 2Mobile Phone Text Messaging: Tool for Malaria Control in Africa21 February 2012 | PLoS Medicine, Vol. 9, No. 2Mobile Teledermatology12 October 2011Using Mobile Health to Support the Chronic Care Model: Developing an Institutional InitiativeInternational Journal of Telemedicine and Applications, Vol. 2012A Re-conceptualization of Access for 21st Century Healthcare12 October 2011 | Journal of General Internal Medicine, Vol. 26, No. S2Feasibility and Usability of a Text Message-Based Program for Diabetes Self-Management in an Urban African-American Population1 September 2011 | Journal of Diabetes Science and Technology, Vol. 5, No. 5The effect of mobile phone text-message reminders on Kenyan health workers' adherence to malaria treatment guidelines: a cluster randomised trialThe Lancet, Vol. 378, No. 9793Text4Baby: Using Text Messaging to Improve Maternal and Newborn HealthNursing for Women's Health, Vol. 15, No. 3Counseling Young Cannabis Users by Text Message1 July 2010 | Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, Vol. 15, No. 4Text Messaging as a Tool for Behavior Change in Disease Prevention and Management30 March 2010 | Epidemiologic Reviews, Vol. 32, No. 1Promoting Self‐Management Through Technology: SMART Solutions for Long‐Term Health ConditionsJournal of Integrated Care, Vol. 17, No. 6Impact of Trust and Technology on Interprofessional Collaboration in Healthcare Settings Volume 14Issue 6Aug 2008 InformationCopyright 2008, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.To cite this article:Mark Terry.Text Messaging in Healthcare: The Elephant Knocking at the Door.Telemedicine and e-Health.Aug 2008.520-524.http://doi.org/10.1089/tmj.2008.8495Published in Volume: 14 Issue 6: August 26, 2008PDF download

Health Promotion International

Health Promotion International

Enhancing the transferability of health promotion policies to Bulgaria: application of a model to increase communication effectiveness

Having a healthy population is vital for economic development. This has been recognized over many decades by countries across the developed world, including Bulgaria. But there are major threats - tobacco consumption, obesity, heart disease and the like, which are the subject of attention by the international health promotion community. This community, and the policies they produce, is dominated by the cultures which make up Western Europe, North America and Australasia. A major question in the rest of the world is whether these ‘global` policies will ‘travel` well; and what might be done, in communication terms, to enhance their trans ferability. This paper reports on research carried out in Bulgaria. It began with an analysis of the contents of the major western-based in ternational health promotion policy documents to identify expressions or ideas, contained in them that might be ‘alien` to the culture of Bulgaria, as identified by Hofstede`s Model of National Cultures. Through the use of a Delphi panel the international language was desensitised. A before and after quasi-experimental design was employed across three types of communities - urban, rural and tobacco-producing - to measure the degree to which communication was more effective using the desensitized material. These results, in most cases, showed a significant improvement. As Bulgaria joins the EU in January 2007 this study takes on broader importance. There will be many new policies to which adjustment is required at a national level; and true citizenship of Europe is dependent upon Bulgarians as a whole being able to identify with the intentions of European policies. Health promotion is only the beginning! Scripta Scientifica Medica 2007;39(1):85-88

Health Promotion International

Health Promotion International

R2331 Choleracafe: an e-learning instrument for professionals involved in international health promotion in the fields of communicable disease prevention, surveillance and treatment

R2331 Choleracafe: an e-learning instrument for professionals involved in international health promotion in the fields of communicable disease prevention, surveillance and treatment

An evaluation of a micro-credit system to promote health knowledge among poor women in Bangladesh

A Micro-credit system (MCS) is a financial system to support the economic needs of the poor. It is thought of as a community-based method to solve various problems, including the lack of health-related knowledge. Participants are organized in groups that assemble in regular meetings. Hadi (Hadi in Health Promotion International 16, 219-227, 2001) investigated the MCS as a method to solve the lack of health-related knowledge among the poor in Bangladesh. His result among rural MCS participants shows a positive relationship between the duration of membership in a micro-credit group and health knowledge. Further, more knowledge was ascertained among participants than among non-participants. The present research investigated the effectiveness of the MCS in increasing health-related knowledge. Comparisons were made between rural and urban groups on the basis of three different durations of membership and the influence of TV. This three-factorial design shows a significant increase in knowledge in a very short period in rural areas, whereas in urban areas, no systematic increase was found. TV plays a significant roll in increasing knowledge. Different theoretical conclusions are discussed on the basis of the results.

An Exploration of Conceptual and Temporal Fallacies in International Health Law and Promotion of Global Public Health Preparedness

In February 2007, Indonesia withheld sharing H5N1 viral samples in order to compel the World Health Organization and Member States to guarantee future access to vaccines for States disproportionately burdened by infectious diseases. This article explores conceptual and temporal fallacies in the International Health Regulations (2005) and the Doha Declaration on the TRIPS Agreement and Public Health, as relates to global public health preparedness. Recommendations include adopting laws to facilitate non-pharmaceutical interventions; securing the rights of affected populations; and fostering inter-State collaborations to promote intra-State public health capacity building.

Mapping national capacity to engage in health promotion: Overview of issues and approaches

This paper reviews approaches to the mapping of resources needed to engage in health promotion at the country level. There is not a single way, or a best way to make a capacity map, since it should speak to the needs of its users as they define their needs. Health promotion capacity mapping is therefore approached in various ways. At the national level, the objective is usually to learn the extent to which essential policies, institutions, programmes and practices are in place to guide recommendations about what remedial measures are desirable. In Europe, capacity mapping has been undertaken at the national level by the WHO for a decade. A complimentary capacity mapping approach, HP-Source.net, has been undertaken since 2000 by a consortium of European organizations including the EC, WHO, International Union for Health Promotion and Education, Health Development Agency (of England) and various European university research centres. The European approach emphasizes the need for multi-methods and the principle of triangulation. In North America, Canadian approaches have included large- and small-scale international collaborations to map capacity for sustainable development. US efforts include state-level mapping of capacity to prevent chronic diseases and reduce risk factor levels. In Australia, two decades of mapping national health promotion capacity began with systems needed by the health sector to design and deliver effective, efficient health promotion, and has now expanded to include community-level capacity and policy review. In Korea and Japan, capacity mapping is newly developing in collaboration with European efforts, illustrating the usefulness of international health promotion networks. Mapping capacity for health promotion is a practical and vital aspect of developing capacity for health promotion. The new context for health promotion contains both old and new challenges, but also new opportunities. A large scale, highly collaborative approach to capacity mapping is possible today due to developments in communication technology and the spread of international networks of health promoters. However, in capacity mapping, local variation will always be important, to fit variation in local contexts.

Urban‐Rural Literacy Gaps in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Roles of Socioeconomic Status and School Quality

Urban‐Rural Literacy Gaps in Sub‐Saharan Africa: The Roles of Socioeconomic Status and School Quality

WHO Health Promotion Glossary: new terms

The WHO Health Promotion Glossary was written to facilitate understanding, communication and cooperation among those engaged in health promotion at the local, regional, national and global levels. Two editions of the Glossary have been released, the first in 1986 and the second in 1998, and continued revision of the document is necessary to promote consensus regarding meanings and to take account of developments in thinking and practice. In this update 10 new terms that are to be included in the Glossary are presented. Criteria for the inclusion of terms in the Glossary are that they differentiate health promotion from other health concepts, or have a specific application or meaning when used in relation to health promotion. The terms defined here are: burden of disease; capacity building; evidence-based health promotion; global health; health impact assessment; needs assessment; self-efficacy; social marketing; sustainable health promotion strategies, and; wellness. WHO will continue to periodically update the Health Promotion Glossary to ensure its relevance to the international health promotion community.

Interventions for promoting the initiation of breastfeeding

AbstractBackgroundDespite the widely documented health benefits of breastfeeding, initiation rates remain relatively low in many high‐income countries, particularly among women in lower income groups.ObjectivesTo evaluate the effectiveness of interventions which aim to encourage women to breastfeed in terms of changes in the number of women who start to breastfeed.Search strategyWe searched the Cochrane Pregnancy and Childbirth Group trials register (30 May 2004), the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (The Cochrane Library, Issue 1, 2003) and the following databases from inception to October 2002: MEDLINE, CINAHL, ERIC, Applied Social Sciences, PsychLIT, EMBASE, British Nursing Index, BIDS, EPI‐centre. We also searched the following in October 2002 for 'grey literature: 'SIGLE, DHSS Data, and Dissertation Abstracts. We handsearched the Journal of Human Lactation, Health Promotion International and Health Education Quarterly from inception to October 1998. We scanned reference lists of all articles obtained.Selection criteriaRandomised controlled trials, with or without blinding, of any breastfeeding promotion intervention in any population group except women and infants with a specific health problem.Data collection and analysisOne review author independently extracted data and assessed trial quality for checking by a second author. We contacted investigators to obtain missing information.Main resultsSeven trials involving 1388 women were included. Five trials involving 582 women on low incomes in the USA showed breastfeeding education had a significant effect on increasing initiation rates compared to routine care (relative risk (RR) 1.53, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25 to 1.88).Authors' conclusionsEvidence from this review shows that the forms of breastfeeding education evaluated were effective at increasing breastfeeding initiation rates among women on low incomes in the USA.Plain language summaryForms of breastfeeding education evaluated are effective at increasing breastfeeding initiation rates among women on low incomes in the USABreastfeeding is widely known to be good for both the baby's and the mother's health. Despite this, many women choose not to breastfeed their baby, especially women living in countries or communities where breastfeeding is not common. This review aims to assess which breastfeeding promotion programmes are successful at increasing the numbers of women who start to breastfeed. Five programmes were found to show overall success at increasing the number of poorer women in the USA who started to breastfeed their baby. Copyright © 2006 The Cochrane Collaboration. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Quantitative methods used in Australian health promotion research: a review of publications from 1992–2002

This study examined the use of quantitative methods in Australian health promotion research in order to identify methodological trends and priorities for strengthening the evidence base for health promotion. Australian health promotion articles were identified by hand searching publications from 1992-2002 in six journals: Health Promotion Journal of Australia, Australian and New Zealand journal of Public Health, Health Promotion International, Health Education Research, Health Education and Behavior and the American Journal of Health Promotion. The study designs and statistical methods used in articles presenting quantitative research were recorded. 591 (57.7%) of the 1,025 articles used quantitative methods. Cross-sectional designs were used in the majority (54.3%) of studies with pre- and post-test (14.6%) and post-test only (9.5%) the next most common designs. Bivariate statistical methods were used in 45.9% of papers, multivariate methods in 27.1% and simple numbers and proportions in 25.4%. Few studies used higher-level statistical techniques. While most studies used quantitative methods, the majority were descriptive in nature. The study designs and statistical methods used provided limited scope for demonstrating intervention effects or understanding the determinants of change.

Adolescents' food habits: results of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey

The present study describes food habits in adolescents in thirty-five countries and regions (European countries/regions, Israel, Canada and the USA), based on the food-frequency questions from the cross-sectional Health Behaviour in School-aged Children survey of the year 2001-2. A total of 162,305 pupils of 11, 13 or 15 years of age completed an anonymous standardised questionnaire on health and lifestyle factors during one school hour. Large differences in food habits between countries were found: the consumption frequency of fruit varied from on average 2.8 to 5 d/week, the consumption of vegetables varied from on average 2.4 to 5.5 d/week, the consumption of soft drinks varied from 2.1 to 5 d/week and sweet consumption from 2.6 to 5 d/week. Methodological problems in comparing between countries are discussed. Nonetheless, the results indicate a need for national and international health promotion programmes to improve adolescents' food habits.

The Bangkok Conference: steering countries to build national capacity for health promotion

Millions of young people in the developing world never achieve two decades of life let alone seven and so it is with mixed feelings that Health Promotion International celebrates its 20th birthday this issue. Much has been written and said about the antecedents and milestones of the health promotion phenomenon but what is clear from history is that any rapidly growing movement or organization needs to re-invigorate its purpose for existence as well as build its capacity for success. This is vital if health promotion is to be truly a response to both national and global challenges. The forthcoming Bangkok Conference and foreshadowed Bangkok Conference will seek to fill this gap. (excerpt)

Methods of Information in the Age of Prospective Medicine

Methods of Information in the Age of Prospective Medicine: Lessons from the 2003 International Conference on Health Promotion of the International Health Evaluation and Promotion Association (IHEPA) -

Bielefeld School of Public Health celebrates 10th anniversary

The only fully established School of Public Health in Germany, the SPH at Bielefeld University, recently celebrated its 10th anniversary in a festive ceremony. The School looks back over 10 very successful years in teaching and research best described by the growth in student numbers, chairs and extramural research grants. From a modest starting position in 1989 when teaching staff from various university faculties together with experts from a range of collaborating institutions first offered a Master of Public Health course, the School as an independent university faculty was inaugurated in 1994 when the University and the Government of NorthrhineWestphalia where Bielefeld is situated realized the obvious developmental potential in this field. Until today more than 800 students have successfully graduated from the School, which is currently staffed by 10 professors and 75 scientific staff in 8 departments. Apart from the highly successful MPH course, the School now offers a new Bachelor degree in health communication (BHC) with an annual number of 75 students, a PhD programme and a correspondance distance learning course in applied health sciences. In addition a Master of Science in epidemiology (MSE) is offered for those wishing to specialize in quantitative research. MPH students can obtain an additional degree of European Master of Public Health since Bielefeld is actively involved in the respective ASPHER activity. The Bielefeld School offers a range of scientific disciplines to its students and research partners. The departments comprise social epidemiology and health systems research, public health medicine, epidemiology and international public health, prevention and health promotion, health economics and management, nursing sciences and healthcare research as well as environment and health. Recently the new department of demography and health was opened, thus adding a highly relevant research field to the portfolio of the School. In terms of research activities the SPH has been able to attract more than 30 million Euros extramural research funding in the past 10 years, both from national and international sources. The research interests center around issues of health care research, child and youth health, quality in health care and environmental and infectious health hazards to name only a few. Reflecting public health as an interdisciplinary science the different departments aim at close collaboration in research and teaching. Internationally, the SPH is a WHO collaborating centre for child and adolescent health promotion, and the school also hosts several regional research co-ordination centers. For the future the Bielefeld School of Public Health will focus on the consolidation and further development of its now well established teaching programme and a decisive strengthening of research capacities. Closer ties with international partners are at the core of ongoing and future developments and grant-supported university partnerships with institutions in India and Turkey are currently being established. In this line Bielefeld SPH also looks forward very much to hosting the ASPHER Deans and Directors’ meeting in 2005.

The practice of the community health agency in health promotion of and disease prevention

This article discusses practices developed by the community health agency in the Family Health Program of Divinópolis--MG reporting on practices in the fields of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, taking as main reference the principles established at the 1st International Health Promotion Conference, which took place in Canada in 1986. Field research was carried out by questionnaire, direct observation of work and open interviews with community health agencies. A qualitative approach was chosen in which the concepts and statements of the subjects were dealt with in the light of historical and dialectical materialism, and the organization and analysis of the discourses according to the Discourse of the Collective Subject. We conclude that the community health agency performs actions recommended by the Ministry of Health, and that its health promoting actions are confined to the creation of environments favorable to health, actions in the home. It works more widely in disease prevention, in individual actions, health education for the community and for groups at risk, and controlling infectious disease and parasites such as dengue and worms. Its focus of attention is predominantly the individual and not the family.

The Return of the Native

The Return of the Native

Health promotion evaluation: focus on "healthy cities"

Since the Healthy City movement is a health promotion strategy, an update study was carried out to put into context the health promotion evaluation debate stressing the principles to be considered in an evaluation initiative and in the problematic of Health Cities projects. A literature review of "Healthy Cities" was conducted. A typology based on of Healthy Cities papers found in MEDLINE, LILACS and published in the "Health Promotion International" between 1985 and 2000 was proposed taking into consideration the main focus of each paper. Articles on evaluation were analyzed in more details according to stressing methods, research tools, indicators, study results, and critical appraisal of their models. Finally, it is highlighted initiatives that would come close to the principles of "Health Promotion" and adopt evaluation as a tool for building up capabilities and the empowerment of community groups involved with Healthy Cities initiatives.

The Community Health Fair as an International Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Strategy

Since the time of Florence Nightingale, the nurse’s role as a health promoter has been valued. There are opportunities for nurses to participate in health promotion and disease prevention at all levels of prevention. Because health problems extend beyond our national borders, this also requires a global view of health needs and health care that must be addressed within our nursing education system. Health promotion and disease prevention activities present a unique challenge in a developing country where the language and lifestyle may be unfamiliar and, at best, the resources are limited. This article will describe the use of a community health fair as a primary prevention and health promotion activity in the rural mountain area of Nicaragua. The process as well as the challenges will be discussed and include implications for use in any developing country with a focus on culturally competent care.