scholarly journals An Automated Text-Messaging Platform for Enhanced Retention and Data Collection in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort: Cohort Management Platform Analysis (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline M Barry ◽  
Aditi Sabhlok ◽  
Victoria C Saba ◽  
Alesha D Majors ◽  
Julia C Schechter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Management Platform ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Study Participants

BACKGROUND Traditional methods for recruiting and maintaining contact with participants in cohort studies include print-based correspondence, which can be unidirectional, labor intensive, and slow. Leveraging technology can substantially enhance communication, maintain engagement of study participants in cohort studies, and facilitate data collection on a range of outcomes. OBJECTIVE This paper provides an overview of the development process and design of a cohort management platform (CMP) used in the Newborn Epigenetic STudy (NEST), a large longitudinal birth cohort study. METHODS The platform uses short message service (SMS) text messaging to facilitate interactive communication with participants; it also semiautomatically performs many recruitment and retention procedures typically completed by research assistants over the course of multiple study follow-up visits. RESULTS Since February 2016, 302 participants have consented to enrollment in the platform and 162 have enrolled with active engagement in the system. Daily reminders are being used to help improve adherence to the study’s accelerometer wear protocol. At the time of this report, 213 participants in our follow-up study who were also registered to use the CMP were eligible for the accelerometer protocol. Preliminary data show that texters (138/213, 64.8%), when compared to nontexters (75/213, 35.2%), had significantly longer average accelerometer-wearing hours (165.6 hours, SD 56.5, vs 145.3 hours, SD 58.5, P=.01) when instructed to wear the devices for 1 full week. CONCLUSIONS This platform can serve as a model for enhancing communication and engagement with longitudinal study cohorts, especially those involved in studies assessing environmental exposures.

scholarly journals An Automated Text-Messaging Platform for Enhanced Retention and Data Collection in a Longitudinal Birth Cohort: Cohort Management Platform Analysis

10.2196/11666 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. e11666
Author(s):  
Caroline M Barry ◽  
Aditi Sabhlok ◽  
Victoria C Saba ◽  
Alesha D Majors ◽  
Julia C Schechter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Management Platform

Short message service text messaging was feasible as a tool for data collection in a trial of treatment for irritable bowel syndrome

2014 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 993-1000 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sally Brabyn ◽  
Joy Adamson ◽  
Hugh MacPherson ◽  
Helen Tilbrook ◽  
David J. Torgerson
Keyword(s):  
Irritable Bowel Syndrome ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Short Message Service ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Message Service ◽  
Irritable Bowel

scholarly journals Population-Based Birth Cohort Studies in Epidemiology

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (15) ◽  
pp. 5276
Author(s):  
Cristina Canova ◽  
Anna Cantarutti
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Real Word ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Birth Cohorts ◽  
Medical Birth Register ◽  
Cohort Study Design

Birth cohort studies are the most appropriate type of design to determine the causal relationship between potential risk factors during the prenatal or postnatal period and the health status of the newborn up to childhood and potentially adulthood. To date, there has been a growth in interest regarding observational population-based studies which are performed to provide answers to specific research questions for defined populations, for instance, assessing the exposure to environmental pollutants or drugs on the risk of developing a disease. Birth cohorts based on the recruitment and active follow-up of mothers and children allow the collection of biological material, and specific clinical and genetic information. However, they require a considerable amount of time and resources and, besides being usually of limited size, they are exposed to the risk of the loss of subjects to follow-up, with decreased statistical power and possible selection bias. For these reasons, linking the medical birth register with administrative health records for mothers and babies is increasingly being used in countries with a universal healthcare system, allowing researchers to identify large and unselected populations from birth, and to reconstruct relevant traits and care pathways of mothers and newborns. This Special Issue of the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health focuses on the current state of knowledge on perinatal and postnatal exposures and adverse pregnancy, maternal, fetal and neonatal outcomes through population-based birth cohort studies, with a specific focus on real-word data. The 12 accepted articles covered a wide range of themes that can be addressed specifically through birth cohort study design; however, only three were based on real word data with record-linkage to health administrative databases. In particular, two papers have addressed the topic of socioeconomic status considering several indicators both at the individual and contextual level. Two papers focused on inflammatory bowel diseases, both as an outcome of perinatal and antibiotic exposure in early life and as a condition associated with asthma, among children identified in a birth cohort based on a Regional Medical Birth Register. Three articles focused on medication use during pregnancy and its impact on maternal and fetal health. The effect of exposure to prenatal environmental risk factors on perinatal and childhood outcomes has been considered in two papers. Two papers analyzed ad hoc nationwide prospective birth cohorts set in Japan and UK. Finally, we included a systematic review with meta-analysis to evaluate the relation between growth restriction at birth and congenital heart defects. We think that this Special Issue may contribute to enriching the discussion of future challenges, opportunities, strengths and limitations for all research topics that can be investigated using a population-based birth cohort study design.

scholarly journals Feasibility of Using Short Message Service and In-Depth Interviews to Collect Data on Contraceptive Use Among Young, Unmarried, Sexually Active Men in Moshi, Tanzania, and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: Mixed Methods Study With a Longitudinal Follow-Up (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Maganga Pima ◽  
Martha Oshosen ◽  
Kennedy Michael Ngowi ◽  
Bruck Messele Habte ◽  
Eusebious Maro ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Collection ◽  
Short Message Service ◽  
Contraceptive Use ◽  
Addis Ababa ◽  
Young Men ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Sexually Active ◽  
Exit Interviews ◽  
Message Service

BACKGROUND Data on contraceptive needs and use among young unmarried men are limited. Conventional ways of data collection may lead to limited and unreliable information on contraceptive use due to sensitivity of the topic, as many young men feel ashamed to discuss their behavior of using contraceptives. As short message service (SMS) is anonymous and a commonly used means of communication, we believe that if deployed, it will create a promising user-friendly method of data collection. OBJECTIVE The objective was to investigate the feasibility of using SMS to collect data on sexually active, young, unmarried men’s sexual behavior and contraceptive preferences, practices, and needs in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and Moshi, Tanzania. METHODS We enrolled men aged 18-30 years who were students (in Ethiopia and Tanzania), taxi or local bus drivers/assistants (Ethiopia and Tanzania), Kilimanjaro porters (Tanzania), or construction workers (Ethiopia). Young men were interviewed using a topic list on contraceptive use. They were followed up for 6 months by sending fortnightly SMS texts with questions about contraceptive use. If the young men indicated that they needed contraceptives during the reporting period or were not satisfied with the method they used, they were invited for a follow-up interview. At the end of the study, we conducted exit interviews telephonically using a semistructured questionnaire to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and accuracy of using SMS to validate the study findings in both countries. RESULTS We enrolled 71 young unmarried men—35 in Tanzania and 36 in Ethiopia. In Moshi, 1908 messages were delivered to participants and 1119 SMS responses were obtained. In Ethiopia, however, only 525 messages were sent to participants and 248 replies were received. The question on dating a girl in the past weeks was asked 438 times in Tanzania and received 252 (58%) replies, of which 148 (59%) were “YES.” In Ethiopia, this question was asked 314 times and received 64 (20%) replies, of which 52 (81%) were “YES” (P=.02 for difference in replies between Tanzania and Ethiopia). In Tanzania, the question on contraceptive use was sent successfully 112 times and received 108 (96%) replies, of which 105 (94%) were “YES.” In Ethiopia, the question on contraceptive use was asked 17 times and received only 2 (11%) replies. Exit interviews in Tanzania showed that SMS was accepted as a means of data collection by 22 (88%) of the 25 interviewed participants. CONCLUSIONS Despite network and individual challenges, the SMS system was found to be feasible in Moshi, but not in Addis Ababa. We recommend more research to scale up the method in different groups and regions.

scholarly journals The Pelotas birth cohort study, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, 1982-2001

2003 ◽  
Vol 19 (5) ◽  
pp. 1241-1256 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cesar G. Victora ◽  
Fernando C. Barros ◽  
Rosângela C. Lima ◽  
Dominique P. Behague ◽  
Helen Gonçalves ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Cohort Studies ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Health Studies ◽  
Hospital Births ◽  
The Life Course

Given the growing recognition of the importance of the life course approach for the determination of chronic diseases, birth cohort studies are becoming increasingly important. This paper describes the methods used in the 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study, one of the largest and longest studies of this type in developing countries. All 5,914 hospital births occurring in Pelotas in 1982 (over 99% of all deliveries) were studied prospectively. The main stages of the study took place in 1983, 1984, 1986, 1995, 1997, 2000, and 2001. More than two thousand variables are available for each subject who participated in all stages of the study. Recent phases of the study included the examination of 2,250 males when presenting for the army recruitment exam in 2000, the study of a 27% sample of men and women in 2001 through household visits, and the study of over 400 children born to the cohort women. Follow-up rates in the recent stages of the cohort were 78.9% for the army examination and 69.0% for the household visits. Ethnographic and oral health studies were conducted in sub-samples. Some recent results on blood pressure, adolescent pregnancy, and asthma are presented as examples of utilization of the data. Suggestions on lessons learned for other cohort studies are proposed.

scholarly journals Size at birth and height in early adolescence: a prospective birth cohort study

2008 ◽  
Vol 24 (4) ◽  
pp. 871-878 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cora L. P. Araújo ◽  
Pedro C. Hallal ◽  
Gisele A. Nader ◽  
Ana Maria B. Menezes ◽  
Cesar G. Victora
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Early Adolescence ◽  
Strong Predictor ◽  
Birth Length ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Size At Birth ◽  
Prospective Birth Cohort ◽  
Prospective Birth Cohort Study

The aim of this study was to evaluate the association between size at birth (birthweight and birth length) and height in early adolescence in a prospective birth cohort study in Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. Interviews were carried out in 1993, including measurements of birthweight and length, and in 2004-2005, including measurements of weight and height. This analysis includes 4,452 individuals, with a mean age of 11.3 years (standard deviation - SD = 0.3), representing a follow-up rate of 87.5%. Mean height at 11 years was 145.8 cm (SD = 7.9), or 144.9 cm (SD = 7.7) in boys and 146.8 cm (SD = 7.9) in girls. Birthweight and birth length were positively associated with height in early adolescence in the crude analysis, but after adjustment for confounding and for each other, only the effect of birth length was still significant. A one z-score increase in birth length was associated with a 1.63 cm increase in height at 11 years. The present study shows that birth length is a strong predictor of later height, while the effect of birth weight disappears after adjustment for birth length.

scholarly journals Feasibility of a Birth-cohort In Pakistan: Evidence For Better Lives Study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yasmeen Anwer ◽  
Fahad Abbasi ◽  
Ariba Dar ◽  
Abdullah Hafeez ◽  
Assad Hafeez ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Partner Violence ◽  
Postnatal Period ◽  
Practice Change ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Third Trimester ◽  
Resource Poor

Abstract BackgroundEvidence for Better Lives Study (EBLS) is an endeavour to establish a global birth cohort with participants from resource poor settings across the globe. It aims to investigate mediators and moderators of child development and wellbeing; it envisages informing policy and practice change to promote child health and wellbeing globally. Pakistan is one of the resource poor settings taking part in this global birth cohort; we report the feasibility of establishing such a birth cohort in Pakistan.MethodFrom March 2019 to July 2019, 153 third trimester pregnant women were identified, using community health worker registers, and approached for baseline demographics and a number of maternal wellbeing, mental health, support related information and stress related biomarkers in a peri-urban area of Islamabad Capital Territory. From October 2019 to December 2019, we re-contacted and followed 121 between 8-24 weeks postnatal period. All interviews were done after consent and data was collected electronically. Results150 (98%) third trimester pregnant women consented and were interviewed, 111 (74%) provided bio-samples and 121 (80.6%) were followed up postnatally. Their mean age and years of schooling was 27.29 (5.18) and 7.77 (4.79) respectively. Majority (82.3%) of the participants were housewives. Nearly a tenth were first time mothers while 63% of women reported current pregnancy to have been unplanned. Overall wellbeing and mental health were reported to be poor (WHO-5 mean scores 49.41 (32.20) & PHQ-9 mean scores 8.23 (7.0)). About 22% of women reported four or more adverse childhood experiences; 12.2% reported intimate partner violence during their current pregnancy. During the postnatal follow up visits, 58% of the women reported breastfeeding their infants. ConclusionThe study demonstrated Pakistan site could identify, approach, interview and follow up women and children postnatally, with a high response rates for both the follow up visits and bio-samples. Thus, a larger scale pregnancy birth cohort study in Pakistan is feasible to conduct.

scholarly journals Use of home pulse oximetry with daily short message service messages for monitoring outpatients with COVID-19: The patient's experience

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. 205520762110676
Author(s):  
Laura Vaughan ◽  
Lauren E Eggert ◽  
Andrea Jonas ◽  
Arthur Sung ◽  
Sara Singer
Keyword(s):  
Pulse Oximeter ◽  
Text Messaging ◽  
Short Message Service ◽  
Home Monitoring ◽  
Outpatient Setting ◽  
Disease Spread ◽  
Short Message ◽  
Low Oxygen ◽  
Message Service ◽  
At Home

Studies have shown COVID-19 patients may have a low oxygen saturation (SpO2) independent of visible respiratory distress, a phenomenon termed “silent hypoxia.” Silent hypoxia creates uncertainty in the outpatient setting for clinicians and patients alike. In this study, we examined the potential for pulse oximeters in identifying early signs of clinical deterioration. We report descriptive results on COVID-positive patients’ experiences with a comprehensive home monitoring tool comprised of home SpO2 measurements with a novel symptom-tracking short message service/text messaging application. Of patients who required hospitalization, 83% sought care as a result of low pulse oximeter readings. Nearly all patients who did not require hospitalization reported that having a pulse oximeter provided them with the confidence to stay at home. Essentially all patients found a home pulse oximeter useful. Keeping COVID-19-positive patients at home reduces the potential for disease spread and prevents unnecessary costs and strain on the healthcare system.

Prenatal and childhood exposure to phthalate diesters and neurobehavioral development in a 15-year follow-up birth cohort study

2019 ◽  
Vol 172 ◽  
pp. 569-577 ◽  
Author(s):  
Han-Bin Huang ◽  
Po-Hsiu Kuo ◽  
Pen-Hua Su ◽  
Chien-Wen Sun ◽  
Wei J. Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cohort Study ◽  
Birth Cohort ◽  
Birth Cohort Study ◽  
Childhood Exposure ◽  
Neurobehavioral Development
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