Mobile Phone Short Message Service Research Articles

The use of text messaging to improve asthma control: a pilot study using the mobile phone short messaging service (SMS)

We have evaluated the feasibility of using the mobile phone short message service (SMS) for symptom monitoring in patients with asthma. All consecutive patients admitted to hospital for asthma during an 11-month period were considered for enrollment (n = 497). Those meeting the inclusion criteria were randomized into a control (n = 60) and intervention group (n = 60). Patients in the intervention group received SMS messages according to a structured workflow, while patients in the control group had no SMS support. In the intervention group, the mean response rate to the messages was 82%. There was an improvement in the Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores in 36 subjects in the intervention group compared to 28 subjects in the control group. There were reductions in the number of nebulizations in 54 subjects in the control group compared to 50 subjects in the intervention group, and reductions in emergency department visits in 57 subjects in the control group compared to 51 subjects in the intervention group. However, none of these differences were significant. There was no reduction in admission rates in either group (P = 0.5). The service was accepted by most patients, but its long-term effectiveness on the management of asthma remains to be determined.

A randomised controlled trial of a community-based healthy lifestyle program for overweight and obese adolescents: the Loozit study protocol.

BackgroundThere is a need to develop sustainable and clinically effective weight management interventions that are suitable for delivery in community settings where the vast majority of overweight and obese adolescents should be treated. This study aims to evaluate the effect of additional therapeutic contact as an adjunct to the Loozit® group program – a community-based, lifestyle intervention for overweight and lower grade obesity in adolescents. The additional therapeutic contact is provided via telephone coaching and either mobile phone Short Message Service or electronic mail, or both.Methods and designThe study design is a two-arm randomised controlled trial that aims to recruit 168 overweight and obese 13–16 year olds (Body Mass Index z-score 1.0 to 2.5) in Sydney, Australia. Adolescents with secondary causes of obesity or significant medical illness are excluded. Participants are recruited via schools, media coverage, health professionals and several community organisations. Study arm one receives the Loozit® group weight management program (G). Study arm two receives the same Loozit® group weight management program plus additional therapeutic contact (G+ATC). The 'G' intervention consists of two phases. Phase 1 involves seven weekly group sessions held separately for adolescents and their parents. This is followed by phase 2 that involves a further seven group sessions held regularly, for adolescents only, until two years follow-up. Additional therapeutic contact is provided to adolescents in the 'G+ATC' study arm approximately once per fortnight during phase 2 only. Outcome measurements are assessed at 2, 12 and 24 months post-baseline and include: BMI z-score, waist z-score, metabolic profile indicators, physical activity, sedentary behaviour, eating patterns, and psychosocial well-being.DiscussionThe Loozit® study is the first randomised controlled trial of a community-based adolescent weight management intervention to incorporate additional therapeutic contact via a combination of telephone coaching, mobile phone Short Message Service, and electronic mail. If shown to be successful, the Loozit® group weight management program with additional therapeutic contact has the potential to be readily translatable to a range of health care settings.Trial registrationThe protocol for this study is registered with the Australian Clinical Trials Registry (ACTRNO12606000175572).

Use of Text Messaging for Monitoring Sugar-sweetened Beverages, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Children: A Pilot Study

Objective To examine acceptability, attrition, adherence, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS; text messaging) for monitoring healthful behaviors in children. Design All randomized children received a brief psychoeducational intervention. They then either monitored target behaviors via SMS with feedback or via paper diaries (PD) or participated in a no-monitoring control (C) for 8 weeks. Setting University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Participants Fifty-eight children (age 5-13) and parents participated; 31 completed (SMS: 13/18, PD: 7/18, C: 11/22). Intervention Children and parents participated in a total of 3 group education sessions (1 session weekly for 3 weeks) to encourage increasing physical activity and decreasing screen time and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Main Outcome Measures Treatment acceptability, attrition, and adherence to self-monitoring. Analysis Descriptive statistics and nonparametric tests were used to analyze differences across time and group. Results Children in SMS had somewhat lower attrition (28%) than both PD (61%) and C (50%), and significantly greater adherence to self-monitoring than PD (43% vs 19%, P < .02). Conclusions and Implications Short message service may be a useful tool for self-monitoring healthful behaviors in children, although the efficacy of this approach needs further study. Implications suggest that novel technologies may play a role in improving health.

Fuelling the Flames: Rumour and Politics in Kibera

Kenya's post-election crisis was partly fuelled by the seemingly innocuous, but insidious, power of rumour. In the 2007 election campaign, rumours fostering suspicion and mistrust were widely disseminated, and in the aftermath of the contested poll rumour frequently gave credence to claims that advanced specific political agendas. The use of mobile phone Short Message Service (SMS) texts in the circulation of rumours gave them an instantaneous spread, contributing to increased anxiety, sometimes leading to panic, and, on occasion, motivating people to action. This article examines the impact of rumour and its relation to politics within Kibera, a densely populated informal settlement in Nairobi's Langata constituency. Langata is the political base of Raila Odinga, presidential candidate and leader of the opposition ODM (Orange Democratic Movement). Between October 2007 and February 2008, rumour played a significant role in shaping public perceptions of the emerging political crisis in Kibera. This narrative suggests the ways in which rumour served to escalate tensions, while sometimes also serving political purposes.

Anxiety levels in women undergoing prenatal maternal serum screening for Down syndrome: the effect of a fast reporting system by mobile phone short‐message service

To study the effect of fast reporting by mobile phone short-message service (SMS) on anxiety levels in women undergoing prenatal biochemical screening for Down syndrome. From January 2005 to December 2006, 2782 women undergoing prenatal biochemical serum screening were randomized into fast reporting by SMS (group A) or without mobile phone reporting (group B). Anxiety levels were measured with the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) before prenatal screen testing, before the appointed clinic (when the SMS report had already been given to group A), and 3 days after the appointed clinic (when the full screening report had been given to groups A and B). For screen-negative women, anxiety scores did not differ between groups before prenatal screen testing and 3 days after the appointed clinic. The state-anxiety scores measured on the second occasion had declined significantly in group A. The state-anxiety scores in both groups increased over the 3-week period after being informed of positive screen results. The trait- and state-anxiety scores at all points did not differ between the two groups of screen-positive women. The provision of a routine reporting system plus additional SMS report revealed some overall benefits in reducing anxiety among women with screen-negative result.

Mobile phone short message service messaging for behaviour modification in a community-based weight control programme in Korea

We conducted a community-based anti-obesity programme using mobile phone short message service (SMS) messaging. A total of 927 participants were recruited and visited a public health centre for initial assessment. Mobile phones were used to deliver short messages about diet, exercise and behaviour modification once a week. After a 12-week anti-obesity programme they visited the public health centre again. Four hundred and thirty-three subjects (47%) successfully completed their weight control programme. There were mean reductions of weight, waist circumference and body mass index of 1.6 kg (P < 0.001), 4.3 cm (P < 0.001) and 0.6 kg/m(2) (P < 0.001), respectively. Over two-thirds of the subjects had a reduction in waist circumference of 5-7.5 cm. A post-intervention survey showed that the majority of participants were satisfied with the weekly SMS messages and information brochures delivered by post. SMS messaging may be an effective method of behaviour modification in weight control and anti-obesity health education programmes when promoted by community health centres.

Diabetes education via mobile text messaging

Living with diabetes makes great educational demands on a family. We have tested the feasibility of using the mobile phone short message service (SMS) for reaching people with diabetes information. We also assessed user satisfaction and perceived pros and cons of the medium through interviews. Eleven parents of children with type 1 diabetes received messages for 11 weeks. The parents were positive about the system and said that they would like to continue to use it. The pop-up reminding effect of SMS messages in busy everyday life was noted as positive. Some parents experienced the messages as somewhat intrusive, arriving too often and at inconvenient times. The parents also noted the potential of the messages to facilitate communication with their adolescent children. The inability to store all of the messages or to print them out were seen as major disadvantages. Overall, the SMS seems to hold promise as means of delivering diabetes information.

Using the decomposed theory of planning behavioural to analyse consumer behavioural intention towards mobile text message coupons

The rapid development and expansion of the global mobile phone market have made mobile phones another vital marketing communication channel, next to electronic and print media. Sending discount coupons through mobile phone text messages or short message service (m-coupons) has become the latest sales promotion trend for companies. As such, the factors influencing attitude and behavioural intention of consumers using m-coupons is worth studying. The present study uses the decomposed theory of planned behaviour proposed by Taylor and Todd (1995) to analyse the attitude and behavioural intention of consumers towards m-coupons, using the said theory to understand the validity of each construct. Results of the study discovered that the decisive or crucial factors influencing the behaviour and intention of consumers in using m-coupons are attitude and perceived behavioural control, while subjective norms are not evident. The perceived usefulness under ‘behavioural attitude’ has a big effect on behavioural attitude; the influence of the primary group under ‘subjective norms’ was also evident, while self-efficacy under ‘perceived behavioural control’ is the most significant influential factor.

Timing of quality of life assessment in cancer clinical trials: fine tuning remains a challenge

Timing of quality of life assessment in cancer clinical trials: fine tuning remains a challenge

Prevalence of perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances in relation to information and communication technology (ICT) use among young adults – an explorative prospective study

The aim of this study was to prospectively investigate whether high quantity of information and communication technology (ICT) use is a risk factor for developing psychological symptoms among young ICT users. A cohort of college students responded to a questionnaire at baseline and at 1-year follow-up (n=1127). Exposure variables, such as different types of ICT use, and effect variables, such as perceived stress, symptoms of depression and sleep disturbances, were assessed. Prevalence ratios were computed, based on symptom-free subjects at baseline and prevalence of symptoms at follow-up. For women, high combined use of computer and mobile phone at baseline was associated with increased risk of reporting prolonged stress and symptoms of depression at follow-up, and number of short message service (SMS) messages per day was associated with prolonged stress. Also online chatting was associated with prolonged stress, and e-mailing and online chatting were associated with symptoms of depression, while Internet surfing increased the risk of developing sleep disturbances. For men, number of mobile phone calls and SMS messages per day were associated with sleep disturbances. SMS use was also associated with symptoms of depression. The findings suggest that ICT may have an impact on psychological health, although causal mechanisms are unclear.

Web-based diabetes control

We developed a diabetes management system with a Web interface that allowed patients to transmit their physiological data using either a PC Web browser or a mobile phone capable of working with the WAP protocol. The system could generate automatic responses to input values in accordance with a set of ranges previously defined for each user. User analysis was carried out with personal and online questionnaires. During a nine-month study period on the island of Tenerife, 12 patients were recruited. On average, they used the system every 2.0 days (SD 2.1) and the doctors reviewed their patient data every 4.0 days (SD 3.9). The average number of visits to the Website was 477 per month. Users were satisfied with the continuity and self-efficacy of care, but lack of time was a drawback for 38% of them and 75% expressed a preference for sending their data via the mobile phone short message service (SMS).

The effect of the use of mobile phone text messages on freshmen's loneliness during the transition to college

This longitudinal study investigated the extent to which the use of mobile phone text messages, including e-mail and short message service, affected freshmen's loneliness during the transition to college. A total of 83 freshmen completed measures of loneliness and social network at the beginning and end of their first semester. Perceived utility of mobile phone text messages was assessed at the beginning of the semester. Results showed that perceived functional usefulness and affiliation fulfillment of text messages affected formation of social network during the period. It was found that the higher the functional usefulness, the larger increase in the number of messages to college friends, and the higher the affiliation fulfillment, the less important the text messages to pre-college friends. Furthermore, it was noted that the more important the relationship with pre-college and college friends that was not dependent on text messages, and the fewer messages to pre-college friends, the less the loneliness. In contrast, greater importance of text messages to pre-college friends was associated with an increase in loneliness.

Essay on Rheumatism and Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobile phone short message service (SMS) to enhance knowledge of medications among nursing students. A quasi-experimental design was used. A convenience sample of 111 nursing students who were taking a pharmacology course at a university in southern Taiwan received an invitation to participate. The intervention group received learning materials by SMS twice per day for 10 days. Data were collected from 52 students in the intervention group and 54 students in the comparison group at baseline and at one week, two weeks and four weeks after the intervention. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to determine the effectiveness of the intervention. The findings show a statistically significant difference between the two groups over time in the medication knowledge score. The students in the intervention group reported an above-average satisfaction level with this learning method; students reporting higher levels of satisfaction with the intervention had higher scores on medication knowledge. These results indicate that providing learning materials by SMS can significantly enhance nursing students' medication knowledge.