Hello,
Has anyone used SMS in data collection for program evaluation? I am working on an evaluation and we have had little success in getting youth to attend focus groups: incentives helped a little, food not at all, ditto for location and time. Even when we have people driving them to group, they don't show up. These are youth involved in the foster care system, a difficult to engage group. We did some phone interviews and they all have mobile numbers so I'm wondering if anyone else has used text messaging. Most of the published literature is on public health or medical intentions. Thanks in advance for any information.
Yes, there have been some studies using SMS, but I'll have to search for them. There is a more robust literature on the use of cell phones and interactive voice response (IVR). I remember seeing a study on asthma in teenagers where they gave them the phones and had them call in every day to respond to a few questions about symptoms. I'll look for these studies in my files and get back to you
You might find some information in the attached citation. The aims of the study were "to determine the feasibility of using text messaging (short message service, SMS) as an evaluation tool for an educational text message-based program and to evaluate the program itself."
Article The Hookup: Collaborative Evaluation of a Youth Sexual Healt...
Hi,
kindly see the following links:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/220218/eia-sms-text-messaging.pdf
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0052621
http://std.sagepub.com/content/19/5/287.abstract
https://www.iywg.org/sites/iywg/files/yl_38_mobiletech.pdf
https://www.c-changeprogram.org/c-channel_issue24_oct2010
http://www.tigertext.com/wp-content/uploads/TigerText-White-Paper-Top-10-Considerations-when-Selecting-a-Secure-Text-Messaging-Solution.pdf
http://www.gizmag.com/secure-text-messaging-phone-clients-comparison-ios-and-android/34000/
Great question Mary and these are great references Senthilvel. I work in a completely different field and these really give me something to think about when it comes to communication and behaviour change.
I agree! These links were very helpful in thinking this through. The fact is, unless we find a way to engage with these youth involved in this system reform, we will have real feedback with them. And that worries me as professionals rarely know how it is experienced by youth. So when I go to convince my peers that this is not only important but doable, i have some resources to share.
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