Use of text messaging services to promote health behaviors in children

Daniel B. Fassnacht; Kathina Ali; Cátia Silva; Sónia Gonçalves; Paulo P.P. Machado

doi:10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.006

Use of text messaging services to promote health behaviors in children

Daniel B. Fassnacht, Kathina Ali, Cátia Silva, Sónia Gonçalves, Paulo P.P. Machado^*

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

36 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objective: To examine adherence to, satisfaction with, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS) to promote health behaviors in school-aged children. Methods: A total of 49 children (aged 8-10 years) were randomized by school classes into a monitoring vs no-monitoring group. All children participated in 2 educational group sessions that focused on health behaviors: the advantages of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, and decreasing screen time. The monitoring group also reported daily behavior using SMS and received supportive feedback for 8 weeks. Results: Children submitted 61% of the required SMS, which indicated good adherence to the intervention. A number of children (95%) reported being satisfied with the program. Analyses of covariance indicated increase in fruit and vegetable consumption (χ² [2] = 7.27; P < .05) and a decrease in screen time (χ² [2] = 6.79; P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: The current SMS intervention was a useful tool to monitor and promote health behaviors in children.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	75-80
Number of pages	6
Journal	Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior
Volume	47
Issue number	1
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.006
Publication status	Published - 1 Jan 2015

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10.1016/j.jneb.2014.08.006

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title = "Use of text messaging services to promote health behaviors in children",

abstract = "Objective: To examine adherence to, satisfaction with, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS) to promote health behaviors in school-aged children. Methods: A total of 49 children (aged 8-10 years) were randomized by school classes into a monitoring vs no-monitoring group. All children participated in 2 educational group sessions that focused on health behaviors: the advantages of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, and decreasing screen time. The monitoring group also reported daily behavior using SMS and received supportive feedback for 8 weeks. Results: Children submitted 61% of the required SMS, which indicated good adherence to the intervention. A number of children (95%) reported being satisfied with the program. Analyses of covariance indicated increase in fruit and vegetable consumption (χ2 [2] = 7.27; P < .05) and a decrease in screen time (χ2 [2] = 6.79; P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: The current SMS intervention was a useful tool to monitor and promote health behaviors in children.",

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AU - Fassnacht, Daniel B.

AU - Ali, Kathina

AU - Silva, Cátia

AU - Gonçalves, Sónia

AU - Machado, Paulo P.P.

PY - 2015/1/1

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N2 - Objective: To examine adherence to, satisfaction with, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS) to promote health behaviors in school-aged children. Methods: A total of 49 children (aged 8-10 years) were randomized by school classes into a monitoring vs no-monitoring group. All children participated in 2 educational group sessions that focused on health behaviors: the advantages of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, and decreasing screen time. The monitoring group also reported daily behavior using SMS and received supportive feedback for 8 weeks. Results: Children submitted 61% of the required SMS, which indicated good adherence to the intervention. A number of children (95%) reported being satisfied with the program. Analyses of covariance indicated increase in fruit and vegetable consumption (χ2 [2] = 7.27; P < .05) and a decrease in screen time (χ2 [2] = 6.79; P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: The current SMS intervention was a useful tool to monitor and promote health behaviors in children.

AB - Objective: To examine adherence to, satisfaction with, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS) to promote health behaviors in school-aged children. Methods: A total of 49 children (aged 8-10 years) were randomized by school classes into a monitoring vs no-monitoring group. All children participated in 2 educational group sessions that focused on health behaviors: the advantages of increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, and decreasing screen time. The monitoring group also reported daily behavior using SMS and received supportive feedback for 8 weeks. Results: Children submitted 61% of the required SMS, which indicated good adherence to the intervention. A number of children (95%) reported being satisfied with the program. Analyses of covariance indicated increase in fruit and vegetable consumption (χ2 [2] = 7.27; P < .05) and a decrease in screen time (χ2 [2] = 6.79; P < .05). Conclusions and Implications: The current SMS intervention was a useful tool to monitor and promote health behaviors in children.

KW - Eating behavior

KW - Exercise

KW - Health behavior

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Use of text messaging services to promote health behaviors in children

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