Ye Li1, Wei Wang1, Qiong Wu1, Michelle Helena van Velthoven2, Li Chen1, Xiaozhen Du1, Yanfeng Zhang1, Igor Rudan3, Josip Car2. 1. Department of Integrated Early Childhood Development, Capital Institute of Pediatrics, Beijing, China. 2. Global eHealth Unit, Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, London, UK. 3. Centre for Population Health Sciences and Global Health Academy, University of Edinburgh Medical School, Edinburgh, UK.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To test the effectiveness of multiple interventions on increasing the response rate of text messaging for longitudinal data collection. METHODS: Our cohort included 283 caregivers of children aged 6-12 months who were participating in an anemia program in rural China. Using text messages to collect data on anemia medication adherence, we conducted a delayed randomized controlled trial to test multiple interventions (an additional four reminders; a ¥5.0 (US$0.79) credit reward for replying; and a feedback text message). After a 6-week pilot study with week 7 as the baseline measurement, we randomly allocated all participants into two groups: group 1 (n = 142) and group 2 (n = 141). During weeks 8-11, we introduced the interventions to group 1, and in weeks 12-15 the intervention was introduced to both groups. We compared the response rates between groups and explored factors affecting the response rate. RESULTS: During weeks 8-11, the response rates in group 1 increased and were significantly higher than in group 2 (p<0.05). During weeks 12-15, the response rate increased significantly in group 2 (p>0.05) and slightly decreased in group 1. Younger participants or participants who had children withlower hemoglobin concentration were more likely to reply (p = 0.02). Sending four reminders on the second day contributed to only 286 (11.7%) extra text messages. DISCUSSION: Our study showed that multiple interventions were effective in increasing response rate of text messaging data collection in rural China. CONCLUSIONS: Larger multi-site studies are needed to find the most effective way of using these interventions to allow usage of text messaging data collection for health research.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVE: To test the effectiveness of multiple interventions on increasing the response rate of text messaging for longitudinal data collection. METHODS: Our cohort included 283 caregivers of children aged 6-12 months who were participating in an anemia program in rural China. Using text messages to collect data on anemia medication adherence, we conducted a delayed randomized controlled trial to test multiple interventions (an additional four reminders; a ¥5.0 (US$0.79) credit reward for replying; and a feedback text message). After a 6-week pilot study with week 7 as the baseline measurement, we randomly allocated all participants into two groups: group 1 (n = 142) and group 2 (n = 141). During weeks 8-11, we introduced the interventions to group 1, and in weeks 12-15 the intervention was introduced to both groups. We compared the response rates between groups and explored factors affecting the response rate. RESULTS: During weeks 8-11, the response rates in group 1 increased and were significantly higher than in group 2 (p<0.05). During weeks 12-15, the response rate increased significantly in group 2 (p>0.05) and slightly decreased in group 1. Younger participants or participants who had children with lower hemoglobin concentration were more likely to reply (p = 0.02). Sending four reminders on the second day contributed to only 286 (11.7%) extra text messages. DISCUSSION: Our study showed that multiple interventions were effective in increasing response rate of text messaging data collection in rural China. CONCLUSIONS: Larger multi-site studies are needed to find the most effective way of using these interventions to allow usage of text messaging data collection for health research.
Authors: Philip James Edwards; Ian Roberts; Mike J Clarke; Carolyn Diguiseppi; Reinhard Wentz; Irene Kwan; Rachel Cooper; Lambert M Felix; Sarah Pratap Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2009-07-08
Authors: Shuyi Zhang; Qiong Wu; Michelle Hmmt van Velthoven; Li Chen; Josip Car; Igor Rudan; Yanfeng Zhang; Ye Li; Robert W Scherpbier Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2012-09-18 Impact factor: 5.428
Authors: Dustin G Gibson; Amanda Pereira; Brooke A Farrenkopf; Alain B Labrique; George W Pariyo; Adnan A Hyder Journal: J Med Internet Res Date: 2017-05-05 Impact factor: 5.428