CONTACT US: Contact info
|
Citation |
Bushar JA, Fishman J, Garfinkel D, Pirretti A. Health Promot. Pract. 2018; ePub(ePub): 1524839918763589. |
|
Affiliation |
ZERO TO THREE, Washington, DC, USA. |
|
Copyright |
(Copyright © 2018, Society for Public Health Education, Publisher SAGE Publishing) |
|
DOI |
|
PMID |
29577770 |
|
Abstract |
Public health practitioners have increasingly leveraged technology-based communication to get health information into the hands of hard-to-reach populations; however, best practices for outreach and enrollment into mobile health (mHealth) programs are lacking. This article describes enrollment results from campaigns focused on enrolling underserved pregnant women and mothers in Text4baby-a free, mHealth service-to inform outreach strategies for mHealth programs. Text4baby participants receive health and safety information, interactive surveys, alerts, and appointment reminders through at least three weekly texts and a free app-timed to users' due date or babies' birth date. Text4baby worked with partners to implement national, state, and community-based enrollment campaigns. Descriptive statistics were used to compare baseline enrollment prior to a campaign with enrollment during a campaign to generate enrollment estimates. Enrollment rates were calculated for campaigns for which the number targeted/reached was available. National television campaigns resulted in more than 10,000 estimated enrollments. Campaigns that were integrated with an existing program and text-based recruitment had the highest enrollment rates, ranging from 7% to 24%. Facebook advertisements and traditional media targeting providers and consumers were least effective. mHealth programs should consider text-based recruitment and outreach via existing programs; additional research is needed on return on investment for different outreach strategies and on the effectiveness of different outreach strategies at reaching and enrolling specific target populations. Language: en |
|
Keywords |
health promotion; maternal and infant health; technology |