Impact Of Short Message Service Research Articles

SMS-based interventions for improving child and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness: a systematic review

BackgroundThe aim of this review was to investigate the impact of short message service (SMS)-based interventions on childhood and adolescent vaccine coverage and timeliness.MethodsA pre-defined search strategy was used to identify all relevant publications up until July 2022 from electronic databases. Reports of randomised trials written in English and involving children and adolescents less than 18 years old were included. The review was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines.ResultsThirty randomised trials were identified. Most trials were conducted in high-income countries. There was marked heterogeneity between studies. SMS-based interventions were associated with small to moderate improvements in vaccine coverage and timeliness compared to no SMS reminder. Reminders with embedded education or which were combined with monetary incentives performed better than simple reminders in some settings.ConclusionSome SMS-based interventions appear effective for improving child vaccine coverage and timeliness in some settings. Future studies should focus on identifying which features of SMS-based strategies, including the message content and timing, are determinants of effectiveness.

Comparing Mobile-Based to Group-Based Education for Weight Reduction in a Developing Country: A Randomized Study.

This study compared the impact of Short Message Service (SMS)-based education with traditional group-based education and the control group on body mass index, weight, and lifestyle in obese and overweight patients in a limited-resource country. It also compared the direct financial costs between the two intervention groups. In this controlled randomized educational study, 90 overweight or obese adults from four family physician clinics in Shiraz, Iran were randomly allocated to three training groups: SMS-based education, group-based education, and a control group. The participants' weight, body mass index (BMI), and waist circumference were measured at baseline, and the Physical Activity Scale questionnaire was completed. Group-based training was conducted in 1-hour weekly sessions. The SMS group received a text message each morning. The control group received routine care from a family physician. The intervention lasted 12 weeks. All participants were re-examined for the studied variables. Additionally, the direct costs were estimated, calculated, and compared. The mean weight, BMI, and waist circumference changed significantly after 3 months compared to baseline in each group. The mean weight change differed significantly among the three groups (P-value=0.04), and the mean BMI changes were near significant (P-value=0.06). A post hoc comparison of changes in weight and BMI showed a significant difference between the control and SMS groups. SMS education incurred much lower costs for patients and healthcare services than group-based education. The study showed that SMS is an effective and cost-saving educational method for weight loss compared to group-based education, especially in developing countries.

Study Evaluating the Impact of Short Message Service on Compliance With Surveillance of Patients With Germ-cell Tumors

Study Evaluating the Impact of Short Message Service on Compliance With Surveillance of Patients With Germ-cell Tumors

Impact of Short Message Service (SMS) and Social Media on Sexual Intercourse of High School Students in Cambodia

Purpose: This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between short message service and social media use, and sexual intercourse of high school students in Cambodia. Methods: Four hundred and eighty-three high school students from three schools in rural provinces were interviewed with structured questionnaires. Results: Sexual intercourse was found significantly more frequent among male students than among female students (p=.001), among alcohol drinkers than among non-drinkers (p<.001), among those who were not taking pictures with mobile phones than among those who were (p=.045), and among those who were exchanging SMS between boyfriend and girlfriend than among those who were not (p=.006). The students who were sending SMS by mobile phones were 5.83 times as likely to have sexual intercourse as their counterparts (p=.020), who were taking pictures with mobile phone were 0.04 times as likely as those who were not (p=.045) and the odds ratio was 15.19 times as high in alcohol drinkers as in non-drinkers (p=.001). Conclusions: Efforts should be made to encourage positive and effective use of social media among adolescents to maintain their sexual health.

Impact of Short Message Service (SMS) Education Based on a Health Promotion Model on the Physical Activity of Patients with Type II Diabetes.

IntroductionPhysical activity is the most important self-management behaviour in diabetes. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a short message service (SMS) based on a health promotion model (HPM) on the physical activity of diabetic patients.MethodsThis quasi-experimental study consisted of 37 type II diabetes patients in an SMS group and 36 type II diabetes patients in a control group. The patients in both groups completed written consent forms and questionnaires at the beginning of the study. The patients in the SMS group received training messages within two weeks (two or three messages daily) in the field of physical activity based on HPM constructs. Both groups completed questionnaires in three stages (at the beginning of the study, four weeks after the first visit, and three months later) comprising demographic factors, questions regarding the constructs, and 7-day physical activity recall. After data collection, statistical analysis was conducted using an independent t-test, a Chi-square test, and a repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA).ResultsAs compared with the control group, changes in mean scores of perceived self-efficacy (P = 0.001) and family support (P = 0.046) of physical activity in the training group were significantly greater and perceived barriers (P < 0.001) were significantly lower over time. The physical activity performance of the SMS group was better three months after training as compared with that of the control group (P < 0.001).ConclusionThe results demonstrated the efficacy of training messages in changing the beliefs and physical activity behaviours of diabetic patients.

The role of short messaging service in supporting the delivery of healthcare: An umbrella systematic review.

Short messaging service (SMS) messages may present a convenient and cost-effective method to support healthcare interventions. This work assesses the effects of short messaging service on various healthcare interventions found in systematic reviews. The search strategy was based on two key concepts: short messaging service and healthcare delivery. The initial search was conducted in December 2012 and was updated in June 2013. Of the 550 identified references, 13 systematic reviews met the inclusion criteria, of which 8 were published in peer-reviewed journals and 5 were retrieved from the Cochrane library. Data analysis shows that low to moderate research evidence exists on the benefits of short messaging service interventions for appointment reminders, promoting health in developing countries and preventive healthcare. In many interventions, however, there were a few studies that were of high quality, and most of the studies were rated from low to moderate quality or had no rating at all. Healthcare organizations, policy makers, or clinicians using short messaging service messages to support healthcare interventions should (1) implement interventions that have been found to work in healthcare settings, (2) continue evaluating short messaging service interventions that have not been adequately assessed, and (3) improve collaboration between various healthcare entities to develop studies targeted at specific populations to evaluate the long-term impact of short messaging service on healthcare outcomes.

The utility of short message service (SMS) texts to remind patients at higher risk of STIs and HIV to reattend for testing: a controlled before and after study

BackgroundPatients attending for sexually transmitted infection (STI)/HIV testing may be at continuing risk of infection and advised to return for retesting at a later date.ObjectivesTo measure the impact of short...

Beyond reminders: a conceptual framework for using short message service to promote prevention and improve healthcare quality and clinical outcomes for people living with HIV

The availability of effective antiretroviral therapy has altered HIV from being an acute disease to being a chronic, manageable condition for many people living with HIV (PLWH). Because of their ubiquity and flexibility, mobile phones with short message service (SMS) offer a unique opportunity to enhance treatment and prevention for people managing HIV. To date, very few US studies using SMS for HIV self-management have been published. In this article, we review the published SMS-based intervention research that aimed to improve healthcare quality and outcomes for PLWH and other chronic health conditions, and propose a conceptual model that integrates the communication functionality of SMS with important psychosocial factors that could mediate the impact of SMS on health outcomes. We posit that an SMS-based intervention that incorporates the elements of interactivity, frequency, timing, and tailoring of messages could be implemented to encourage greater medication adherence as well as impact other mutually reinforcing behaviors and factors (e.g., increasing patient involvement and social support, reducing risk behaviors, and promoting general health and well-being) to support better healthcare quality and clinical outcomes for PLWH. We recommend that future studies explore the potential linkages between variations in SMS characteristics and these mediating factors to determine if and how they influence the larger outcomes.

Mobile Technology and the Last Mile: “Reluctant Innovation” and FrontlineSMS

ing them the most ubiquitous communications platform in human history. Communications technologies are unique among many other types of innovation in that they fundamentally change how we interact with each other. As mobile phones grow in sophistication and become smarter and smarter, many overlook the one basic piece of functionality that has done the most to change how we share information between one another: the text message. Text messages, or Short Message Service (SMS) messages which weigh in at 160 characters or less, don’t, at first blush, seem obvious as a powerfully transformative technology. Yet, it is their simplicity, availability, and affordability that make them appealing to groups of people who have little experience with technology. The impact of SMS can be seen in almost every aspect of life, from teenagers’ fragmented attention spans, to presidential campaigns, to the ways victims of natural disasters seek relief. The use of mobile phones to improve systems and services, especially in underserved contexts—dubbed “mobile for development” (m4d)—represents one of the most rapidly growing frontiers in innovation, particularly in the developing world. FrontlineSMS is an open-source SMS gateway that enables grassroots organizations to use text messages and mobile technologies effectively to serve their communities. Over the last six years, FrontlineSMS has been downloaded more than