Developing a Text Messaging Risk Reduction Intervention for Methamphetamine-Using MSM: Research Note

Men who have sex with men (MSM) who use methamphetamine experience high risks for HIV infection due to sexual transmission behaviors often engaged in when under the influence of methamphetamine. Methamphetamine-using MSM use various forms of information technology (IT) communication such as instant messaging, social networking sites, and websites to facilitate a sexual and/or drug “hook up.” Given the acceptability of IT communication in their daily lives, an IT intervention represents an appropriate strategy to reach and intervene with out-of-treatment, methamphetamine-using MSM. The aim of this study was to conduct formative work to develop a text messaging intervention to reduce methamphetamine use and high-risk sexual behaviors among out-of-treatment MSM, which involved conducting focus groups, community partners’ meetings, and a pre-test intervention. These activities culminated in the development of a two-week, text-messaging intervention that delivered real-time electronic correspondence based on the behavioral change theories of Social Support Theory, Health Belief Model, and Social Cognitive Theory. The focus groups, community meetings, and pre-test were used to identify the IT communication device, the text messages that best support risk reduction and healthier behavioral choices, and logo, flyer and website development. The input and feedback from the target population and community partners were critical to the successful development of a culturally appropriate intervention. The knowledge gleaned from the formative work of this study will be vitally helpful in designing future IT studies.

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Iterative development of a multiple technology-based physical activity intervention for Latina adolescents: The Chicas Fuertes Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.26195 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Britta Larsen ◽

Emily D. Greenstadt ◽

Brittany L. Olesen ◽

Bess H. Marcus ◽

Job Godino ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Social Media ◽

Focus Group ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Physical Activity Intervention ◽

Target Population ◽

Text Messages ◽

Study Objective ◽

Latina Adolescents

BACKGROUND Adolescent girls report the lowest levels of physical activity (PA) of any demographic group, with rates especially low for racial/ethnic minority girls. Only 3% of Latina teens meet national PA guidelines, and these habits appear to persist into adulthood. Developing effective interventions to increase PA in Latina teens is necessary for preventing disease and reducing disparities. OBJECTIVE The study objective was to develop a mHealth PA intervention for Latina adolescents using a multi-stage iterative process based on an adaptation of the IDEAS (Integrate, DEsign, Assess, Share) framework. METHODS Development of the intervention was accomplished through three iterations: 1) feedback from a previous web-based pilot study, Niñas Saludables; 2) conducting focus groups with the target population; and, 3) vetting the final materials with a youth advisory board (YAB) comprising Latina adolescents. Based on feedback from participants in the Niñas Saludables study, plans to improve the intervention included incorporating visual social media posts and text messaging, adding a commercial wearable tracker, and revising the existing website to be primarily visual; proposed procedures and material were then refined through focus groups. Participants for focus groups (N=50) were girls age 13-18 who could speak and read in English who were recruited from local high schools and after school programs serving a high proportion of Latinos. Facilitated discussions focused on experience with PA and social media apps, and specific feedback on intervention material prototypes and possible names and logos. Materials were refined based on their feedback, then were beta tested by the YAB. YAB members (N=4) were Latinas age 13-18 who were not regularly active and were recruited via word of mouth and selected through an application process. RESULTS The focus group discussions yielded the following findings: PA preferences included walking, running and group fitness classes, while the least popular activities were running, swimming, and biking. Most participants used some form of social media, with Instagram being the most favored. Participants preferred text messages be sent no more than once a day, be personalized, and be positively worded. Focus group participants preferred an intervention directly targeting Latinas, and social media posts that were brightly colored, included girls of all body types, and provided specific tips and information. Modified intervention materials were generally perceived favorably by the YAB members, who provided suggestions for further refinements including incorporation of some Spanish phrases. CONCLUSIONS Latina teens were generally enthusiastic about an mHealth PA intervention, provided the materials were targeted specifically to them and their preferences. Through multiple iterations of development and feedback with the target population, we gained insight into the needs of Latina teens and joined with industry partners to build a viable final product.

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Promoting Antenatal Care Attendance Through a Text Messaging Intervention in Samoa: Quasi-Experimental Study

JMIR mhealth and uhealth ◽

10.2196/15890 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 8 (6) ◽

pp. e15890

Author(s):

Jessica L Watterson ◽

Diego Castaneda ◽

Caricia Catalani

Keyword(s):

Data Analysis ◽

Maternal Health ◽

Antenatal Care ◽

Pregnant Women ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Individual Characteristics ◽

Text Messages ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Text Messaging Intervention ◽

Sms Text Messaging

Background Antenatal care (ANC) has the potential to improve maternal health, but it remains underutilized and unevenly implemented in many low- and middle-income countries. Increasingly, text messaging programs for pregnant women show evidence that they can improve the utilization of ANC during pregnancy; however, gaps remain regarding how implementation affects outcomes. Objective This study aimed to assess facilitators and barriers to implementation of an SMS text messaging intervention for pregnant women in Samoa and to assess its impact on ANC attendance. Methods This study took place in Upolu, Samoa, from March to August 2014 and employed a quasi-experimental design. Half (n=3) of the public antenatal clinics on the island offered adult pregnant women the SMS text messaging intervention, with 552 women registering for the messages. At the comparison clinics (n=3), 255 women registered and received usual care. The intervention consisted of unidirectional text messages containing health tips and appointment reminders. The outcome of interest was the number of attended antenatal visits. Implementation data were also collected through a survey of the participating midwives (n=7) and implementation notes. Data analysis included a comparison of women’s baseline characteristics between the two groups, followed by the use of negative binomial regressions to test for associations between participation in the intervention and increased ANC attendance, controlling for individual characteristics and accounting for the clustering of women within clinics. Results The comparison of ANC attendance rates found that women receiving the SMS text messaging intervention attended 15% fewer ANC visits than the comparison group (P=.004), controlling for individual characteristics and clustering. Data analysis of the implementation process suggests that barriers to successful implementation include women registering very late in pregnancy, sharing their phone with others, and inconsistent explanation of the intervention to women. Conclusions These results suggest that unidirectional text messages do not encourage, and might even discourage, ANC attendance in Samoa. Interpreted with other evidence in the literature, these results suggest that SMS text messaging interventions are more effective when they facilitate better communication between patients and health workers. This study is an important contribution to our understanding of when SMS text messaging interventions are and are not effective in improving maternal health care utilization.

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Image-Based Dietary Assessment and Tailored Feedback Using Mobile Technology: Mediating Behavior Change in Young Adults

Nutrients ◽

10.3390/nu11020435 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 435 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Charlene Shoneye ◽

Satvinder Dhaliwal ◽

Christina Pollard ◽

Carol Boushey ◽

Edward Delp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Young Adults ◽

Food Intake ◽

Mobile Technology ◽

Odds Ratio ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Dietary Assessment ◽

Text Messages ◽

Nutrition Interventions ◽

Text Messaging Intervention ◽

Dietary Feedback

Assessing the implementation of nutrition interventions is important to identify characteristics and dietary patterns of individuals who benefit most. The aim was to report on young adults’ experiences of receiving dietary feedback text messaging intervention. Diet was captured using an image-based 4-day mobile food recordTM application (mFRTM) and assessed to formulate two tailored feedback text messages on fruit and vegetables and energy-dense nutrient-poor (EDNP) foods and beverages. At 6-months 143 participants completed a second mFRTM and a questionnaire evaluating the dietary feedback. Participants who agreed the text messages made them think about how much vegetables they ate were more likely to increase their intake by at least half a serve than those who disagreed [odds ratio (OR) = 4.28, 95% Confidence Interval (CI): 1.76 to 10.39]. Those who agreed the text messages made them think about how much EDNP foods they ate, were twice as likely to decrease their intake by over half a serve (OR = 2.39, 95%CI: 1.12 to 5.25) than those who disagreed. Undertaking detailed dietary assessment ensured the tailored feedback was constructive and relevant. Personal contemplation about vegetable and EDNP food intake appears to be a mediator of dietary change in young adults.

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Text-Messaging in Africa

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Linguistics ◽

10.1093/acrefore/9780199384655.013.229 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Ana Deumert

Keyword(s):

Mobile Phones ◽

Technology Use ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Social Inequalities ◽

Instant Messaging ◽

Text Messages ◽

African Languages ◽

Pan African ◽

Message Service ◽

Local Meaning

The concept of Africa requires reflection: what does it mean to study a social phenomenon “in Africa”? Technology use in Africa is complex and diverse, showing various degrees of access across the continent (and in the Diaspora, and digital social inequalities—which are part and parcel of the political economy of communication—shape digital engagement. The rise of mobile phones, in particular, has enabled the emergence of technologically mediated literacies, text-messaging among them. Text-messaging is defined not only by a particular mode of communication (typically written on mobile phones, visual, digital), but it also favors particular topics (intimate, relational, sociable, ludic) and ways of writing (short, non-standard texts that are creative as well as multilingual). The genre of text-messaging thus includes not only short message service (SMS) and (mobile) instant-messaging (which one might call prototypical one-to-one text messages), but also Twitter, an application that, like texting, favors brevity of expression and allows for one-to-many conversations. Access to Twitter is still limited for many Africans, but as ownership of smartphones is growing, so is Twitter use, and the African “Twittersphere” is emerging as an important pan-African space. At times, discussions are very local (as on Ghanaian Twitter), at other times regional (East African Twitter) or global (African Twitter and Black Twitter); all these are emic, folksonomic terms, assigned and discussed by users. Although former colonial languages, especially English, dominate in many prototypical text messages and on Twitter, the genre also provides important opportunities for writing in African languages. The choices made in the digital space echo the well-known debate between Chinua Achebe and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o: the Africanization of the former colonial languages versus writing in African languages. In addition, digital writers engage in multilingual writing, combining diverse languages in one text, and thus offer new ways of writing locally as well as shaping a digitally-mediated pan-African voice that draws on global strategies as well as local meaning.

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Stepwise Development of BullyDown, a Text Messaging-Based Bullying Prevention Program for Middle School Students (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.5344 ◽

2015 ◽

Author(s):

Michele L Ybarra ◽

Tonya L Prescott ◽

Dorothy L Espelage

Keyword(s):

Middle School ◽

Middle School Students ◽

Focus Groups ◽

Prevention Program ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Prevention Programs ◽

Bullying Prevention ◽

Text Messages ◽

School Students ◽

Beta Test

BACKGROUND Bullying is a significant public health issue among middle school-aged youth. Current prevention programs have only a moderate impact. Cell phone text messaging technology (mHealth) can potentially overcome existing challenges, particularly those that are structural (e.g., limited time that teachers can devote to non-educational topics). To date, the description of the development of empirically-based mHealth-delivered bullying prevention programs are lacking in the literature. OBJECTIVE To describe the development of BullyDown, a text messaging-based bullying prevention program for middle school students, guided by the Social-Emotional Learning model. METHODS We implemented five activities over a 12-month period: (1) national focus groups (n = 37 youth) to gather acceptability of program components; (2) development of content; (3) a national Content Advisory Team (n = 9 youth) to confirm content tone; and (4) an internal team test of software functionality followed by a beta test (n = 22 youth) to confirm the enrollment protocol and the feasibility and acceptability of the program. RESULTS The focus group recruitment experience suggests that Facebook advertising was less efficient than using a recruitment firm. Sixth grade youth had difficulty engaging in the bulletin board-style focus groups, suggesting that participants may need to be in at least 7th grade to have the writing skills for this research activity. Feedback from the Content Advisory Team suggests a preference for 2-4 brief text messages per day. Beta test findings suggest that BullyDown is both feasible and acceptable: 100% of youth completed the follow-up survey, 86% of whom liked the program. CONCLUSIONS Text messaging appears to be a feasible and acceptable delivery method for bullying prevention programming delivered to middle school students.

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Awkward comedy and performative anxiety

10.32920/ryerson.14649606 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Alanna Goldstein

Keyword(s):

Social Networking Sites ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Instant Messaging ◽

Real Space ◽

Social Self ◽

Entertainment Media ◽

Parks And Recreation ◽

Face To Face ◽

Embodied Communication ◽

Modern Family

"As more and more of our daily social interactions are mediated and experienced through the screens of communication technologies, face-to-face moments of unmediated sociality has become the terrain for "awkward," unedited encounters, fraught with the potential for misunderstanding and communicative breakdown. Text messaging, instant messaging and social networking sites are increasingly replacing embodied forms of communication as the preferred method for building and maintaining even the most intimate of relationships. The ability to manage one's performance within these regulated and highly-edited communicative spaces consequently emphasizes the vulnerability of the embodied social self, engaging in real space and time. The potential for failure inherent to any embodied social interaction is increasingly prevalent as a theme across a variety of entertainment media, suggesting that concerns with embodied communication performances are widespread. In this paper I will illustrate how representations of this communicative breakdown and the resulting moments of "awkward" silence form the basis for a new sub-genre of television comedy that includes both the British and American versions of The Office, Peep Show, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Parks and Recreation and Modern Family, among others. I contend that the popularity of these programs is a function of their adoption of unique aesthetic elements that reflect and address anxieties surrounding changing communicative norms specific to life in a highly-mediated social environment"--From introduction.

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A Culturally Adapted SMS Text Messaging Intervention to Promote Antiretroviral Therapy Adherence Among African Americans: Protocol for a Single-Arm Trial

JMIR Research Protocols ◽

10.2196/21592 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (12) ◽

pp. e21592

Author(s):

Maulika Kohli ◽

Elizabeth C Pasipanodya ◽

Jessica L Montoya ◽

Maria Marquine ◽

Martin Hoenigl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

African American ◽

African Americans ◽

Text Messaging ◽

Text Messages ◽

Hiv Care ◽

Virologic Suppression ◽

Art Adherence ◽

Culturally Tailored ◽

Text Messaging Intervention ◽

Sms Text Messaging

Background African Americans are disproportionally affected by HIV and have poorer rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART) adherence compared to other racial or ethnic groups in the United States. Factors associated with poor HIV disease outcomes are commonly associated with sociostructural barriers that prevent engagement with and retention in HIV care. SMS text messaging interventions to promote ART adherence among predominantly non-Hispanic White persons with HIV (PWH) have been shown to be efficacious; however, limited research has been devoted to culturally tailoring interventions for underrepresented racial/ethnic groups. Considering African Americans show poorer engagement along the HIV care continuum, we developed an individualized and culturally tailored two-way SMS text messaging intervention to improve ART adherence and associated virologic suppression among African American PWH. Objective In this paper we describe the protocol of a culturally tailored individualized Texting for Adherence Building (iTAB) intervention in a 24- to 48-week, single-arm study. Methods We developed a culturally tailored iTAB intervention, which we are implementing in a 24- to 48-week, single-arm study. Participants were recruited from the Family Health Centers of San Diego (FHCSD), a federally qualified health center. Patient inclusion criteria were (1) receiving care at the FHCSD, (2) living with HIV, (3) self-identification as Black, African American, or of African ancestry, (4) English speaking, (5) age 18 or older, (6) currently on ART, and (7) able to provide informed consent. Study enrollment began in November 2017 and closed in July 2019. A total of 90 participants from the FHCSD enrolled in the iTAB intervention, and we anticipate completing data collection in July 2020. Participants were assisted in individualizing and customizing their SMS text message preferences at the baseline study visit. Self-assessment measures are collected at baseline, interim, and final study visits. Problems related to sending/receiving SMS text messages and barriers to ART adherence are assessed at each interim study visit. The FHCSD staff monitors and tracks participants’ daily SMS text message responses to ART adherence reminders using a clinical dashboard. Results We hypothesize that the proportion of individuals achieving HIV virologic suppression (viral load <40 copies/mL) will be greater at the end of the intervention period compared to the proportion prior to study implementation. Additionally, we anticipate that rates of virologic suppression at the end of the intervention among participants receiving iTAB will be comparable to those among the general FHCSD non-African American population who did not receive iTAB. Finally, we anticipate a high response rate to iTAB SMS text messages as well as positive participant feedback at the end of the intervention with regard to the acceptability of, satisfaction with, and perceived efficacy of iTAB. Conclusions The iTAB intervention is a novel individualized two-way SMS text messaging intervention that has been culturally tailored for use among African Americans with HIV. We anticipate that iTAB will demonstrate efficacy in future randomized control trials and will be supportive of medication adherence among other populations facing health disparities. International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) DERR1-10.2196/21592

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Testing the feasibility and acceptability of a religiously-tailored text messaging intervention to reduce smoking among Somali Muslim men during Ramadan

Nicotine & Tobacco Research ◽

10.1093/ntr/ntaa260 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Rebekah Pratt ◽

Olamide Ojo-Fati ◽

Diana DuBois ◽

Kolawole Okuyemi ◽

Amanda L Graham ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Text Messaging ◽

Intervention Strategy ◽

Smoking Behavior ◽

Text Message ◽

Text Messages ◽

Smoking Reduction ◽

Muslim Men ◽

Quitting Smoking ◽

Text Message Intervention ◽

Text Messaging Intervention

Abstract Introduction The prevalence of smoking among Somali Muslim male immigrants residing in Minnesota is estimated at 44%, however smoking reduction is common during the month of Ramadan. This study evaluated the feasibility and impact of a religiously-tailored text message intervention delivered during Ramadan to encourage smoking reduction among Somali Muslim men who smoke. Methods 50 Somali men were recruited. Participants received two text messages per day starting one week prior to and throughout the month of Ramadan. Approximately half were religiously-tailored and half were about the risks of smoking and benefits of quitting. Smoking behavior was assessed at baseline, and at weeks 4 (end of Ramadan), 8, and 16. Outcomes included feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of the text message intervention on smoking reduction and bio-verified abstinence. Results The average age was 41 years. Average time to first cigarette was 1.8 hours at baseline, and 46% of participants smoked menthol cigarettes. Eighteen of 50 participants selected English and 32 selected Somali text messages. Subjects significantly reduced self-reported cigarettes per day (CPD) from 12.4 CPD at baseline to 5.8 CPD at Week 16 (p<0.001). Seven subjects reported quitting at week 16, five completed CO testing, confirming self-reported abstinence. The majority of participants found the cultural and religious references encouraging at the end of the week 16 survey. Conclusions Religiously-tailored text messages to decrease smoking are feasible and acceptable to Somali Muslim men who smoke during Ramadan. This intervention for addressing smoking disparities is worthy of further study. Implications Recruitment of Somali Muslim men who smoke is feasible and supports the idea that further studies targeting smoking during Ramadan are practical. Ramadan presents a window of opportunity upon which to build smoking cessation interventions for smokers who identify as Muslim. These preliminary findings suggest that text messaging is a feasible and acceptable intervention strategy, and that religious tailoring was well received. Such an approach may offer potential for addressing smoking disparities among Somali Muslim male smokers.

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African Languages in Information and Communications Technology

The Oxford Handbook of African Languages ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199609895.013.41 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 948-957

Author(s):

Kristin Vold Lexander

Keyword(s):

Social Networking Sites ◽

Electronic Communication ◽

Instant Messaging ◽

Text Messages ◽

Information And Communications Technology ◽

Discussion Forums ◽

Writing Systems ◽

Digital Revolution ◽

African Languages ◽

Social And Economic Development

Africa is experiencing immense growth in the use of information technology (IT). Studies of this “Digital Revolution” have tended to focus on social and economic development issues, while lately also studies on the use of African languages on the Internet and in mobile telephony have emerged. Of particular interest is the use of African languages in written electronic communication: does IT increase the marginalization of African languages or does it create a space for their blossoming? This question will be examined in the chapter, considering the extension and the nature of the use of African languages in communication mediated by IT, like websites and electronic discussion forums, emails, instant messaging, social networking sites, and text messages. The technological dimensions related to writing systems, different efforts aiming at the standardization of keyboards, and the translation of software will also be discussed.

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Using graphic text-messaging to promote smoking cessation among first-generation Chinese and Korean male immigrants

Health Education Research ◽

10.1093/her/cyz006 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 34 (3) ◽

pp. 332-344

Author(s):

Xiaoquan Zhao ◽

Emily B Peterson ◽

Kyeung Mi Oh ◽

Xiaomei Cai

Keyword(s):

Smoking Cessation ◽

Text Messaging ◽

First Generation ◽

The United States ◽

Text Messages ◽

Washington Dc ◽

Promote Smoking Cessation ◽

Text Messaging Intervention ◽

Expired Air

Abstract First-generation Chinese and Korean male immigrants in the United States are at high risk for tobacco use. This study pilot-tested a graphic, native-language text-messaging intervention to promote smoking cessation among these groups. First-generation Chinese and Korean male immigrant smokers (N = 71) were recruited from the Washington DC area. Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions based on a between-subjects 2 (graphic plus text or text-only messages) ï¿½ 2 (quitline information or quitting tips) design. The text-messaging intervention included 30 text messages in total and lasted one month. Participants completed an expired air carbon monoxide (CO) assessment and self-reported measures at both baseline and follow-up. Results show that, from baseline to follow-up, participants’ expired air CO levels decreased significantly (P = 0.001). Attitude toward quitting also became more positive (P = 0.028). Compared with text-only messages, graphic text messages produced greater positive changes in quitting attitudes (P = 0.039) and elicited greater fear response (P = 0.005). Compared with quitting tip messages, quitline information resulted in greater regret (P = 0.016) and fear (P = 0.051). These findings suggest that graphic text-messaging can be an effective method to promote smoking cessation among first-generation Chinese and Korean male immigrants.

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