INTRODUCTION: Longitudinal studies of adolescents must be 'adolescent-friendly', to collect data and to encourage maintenance in the study cohort. Text messaging may offer a feasible means to do both. METHODS: Adolescents in the Adolescent Rural Cohort, Hormones and Health, Education, Environments and Relationships (ARCHER) study (n=342) are sent automated text messages every 3 months, prompting biological specimen collection. RESULTS: A total of 99.2% of participants (or their parents) owned a mobile phone, of which 89.1% of participants responded to text messages and 97.3% of intended urine samples were collected. The average time to provide a urine sample after prompting correlated with time to reply to Short Message Service (SMS). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows SMS can be used effectively in longitudinal research involving adolescents and is feasible and useful as a reminder tool for regular biological specimen collection.
INTRODUCTION: Longitudinal studies of adolescents must be 'adolescent-friendly', to collect data and to encourage maintenance in the study cohort. Text messaging may offer a feasible means to do both. METHODS: Adolescents in the Adolescent Rural Cohort, Hormones and Health, Education, Environments and Relationships (ARCHER) study (n=342) are sent automated text messages every 3 months, prompting biological specimen collection. RESULTS: A total of 99.2% of participants (or their parents) owned a mobile phone, of which 89.1% of participants responded to text messages and 97.3% of intended urine samples were collected. The average time to provide a urine sample after prompting correlated with time to reply to Short Message Service (SMS). CONCLUSIONS: This study shows SMS can be used effectively in longitudinal research involving adolescents and is feasible and useful as a reminder tool for regular biological specimen collection.