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Mobile phones and short message service texts to collect situational awareness data during simulated public health critical events.

American journal of disaster medicine · 2011 · Unclear · Low evidence

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UnclearLow evidencePaper 3238

In five situational assessments, 194 of 253 prompted text surveys (76.7%) were completed, and nearly 60% were completed within 20 minutes of text deployment. The authors concluded that two-way SMS communication for surveillance and reporting was feasible amon…

Study snapshot

PublicationAmerican journal of disaster medicine · 2011
Study typeother
Reported directionUnclear
Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Text messages are useful for timely communication during public health emergencies and for transmitting health data in infrastructure-limited settings. Little is known about the feasibility of two-way short message service (SMS) communication to collect public health preparedness and surveillance data. The authors aimed to determine the feasibility and acceptability of using two-way SMS texts to collect situational assessment (SA) data in simulated disaster events during a university-based pilot study. DESIGN: Eligible participants included university students with a mobile phone and messaging plan. Enrollment began in September 2009, and was open until the end of the study in May 2010. Participants attended a training session and provided demographic and phone use information using a baseline survey. Participants responded to SMS SAs that were sent directly to their phones throughout the study period. Frequency, completeness, and time to reporting were recorded for each procedure using an online commercial software package. RESULTS: Sixty-three participants enrolled; median age was 25 years, most were female (74.6 percent), lived off campus (76.2 percent), and were graduate students (76.2 percent). Most participants had a family/joint mobile phone account (73.0 percent) with unlimited messaging (60.3 percent). The median daily number of texts sent and received was 8 and 9, respectively. During five SAs, 194 (76.7 percent) of 253 prompted text surveys were completed. Nearly 60 percent of surveys were completed within 20 minutes of text deployment. CONCLUSIONS: Using two-way SMS communication for surveillance and reporting was feasible among a group of motivated students. Similar methods may provide timely data during public health critical events.

Machine Enhanced Logic

AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeother
Effect directionunclear
PopulationUniversity students with a mobile phone and messaging plan
Sample size63
ExposureSeptember 2009 to May 2010
Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 74% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

In five situational assessments, 194 of 253 prompted text surveys (76.7%) were completed, and nearly 60% were completed within 20 minutes of text deployment. The authors concluded that two-way SMS communication for surveillance and reporting was feasible among motivated university students.

Outcomes measured

  • Feasibility of two-way SMS for collecting situational assessment data
  • Acceptability of two-way SMS communication
  • Survey completion rate
  • Time to survey completion

Limitations

  • University-based pilot study with motivated student participants
  • Simulated disaster events (not real public health emergencies)
View raw extracted JSON
{
  "study_type": "other",
  "exposure": {
    "band": null,
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": null,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "September 2009 to May 2010"
  },
  "population": "University students with a mobile phone and messaging plan",
  "sample_size": 63,
  "outcomes": [
    "Feasibility of two-way SMS for collecting situational assessment data",
    "Acceptability of two-way SMS communication",
    "Survey completion rate",
    "Time to survey completion"
  ],
  "main_findings": "In five situational assessments, 194 of 253 prompted text surveys (76.7%) were completed, and nearly 60% were completed within 20 minutes of text deployment. The authors concluded that two-way SMS communication for surveillance and reporting was feasible among motivated university students.",
  "effect_direction": "unclear",
  "limitations": [
    "University-based pilot study with motivated student participants",
    "Simulated disaster events (not real public health emergencies)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.74,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "SMS",
    "short message service",
    "mobile phones",
    "situational awareness",
    "public health preparedness",
    "surveillance",
    "disaster simulation",
    "feasibility",
    "acceptability"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": []
}
AI can be wrong. Always verify against the paper.

AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.5055/ajdm.2011.0076
PubMed: 22338318

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