Mobile Health Evaluation Methods: The Text4baby Case Study
Mobile Health Evaluation Methods: The Text4baby Case Study
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DOI：
10.1080/10810730.2011.649157
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发表时间：
2012-01-01
影响因子：
4.4
通讯作者：
Wallace, Jasmine L.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Evans, W. Douglas;Abroms, Lorien C.;Wallace, Jasmine L.
移动的电话已被证明在几个公共卫生领域有效。然而，对移动的保健在促进健康方面的有效性的评价却很少。此外，尽管许多研究都引用了行为理论，但似乎没有一项明确测试了理论假设或证明了变化的机制。更强大的评估模型，将理论和测量的行为介质是必要的。与所有公共卫生项目一样，移动的健康也是在社会生态环境中运作的。例如，组织和个人层面的计划试图影响健康和医疗保健实践以及个人健康行为。Text4baby等新项目展示了如何将理论和中介者的明确测试纳入评估。鉴于移动的渠道的性质，移动健康评估面临着挑战和机遇。移动的通信无处不在，随时随地可用，因此实验控制往往是困难的。使用mHealth剂量变化和基于地点或位置的设计的自然实验可能会增加实验控制。Text4baby是一个短信程序，为孕妇和新妈妈提供产前护理信息。它采用一种伙伴关系模式，保健设施往往作为地方执行伙伴。作者回顾了在马迪根陆军医疗中心Text4baby评估的一个案例。参与者被随机分配到常规产前护理加短信或常规护理。该评估有一个行为改变的理论模型，并测量中介物和行为结果。结果将告知行为理论如何在移动的健康计划中发挥作用。
Mobile phones have been shown effective in several public health domains. However, there are few evaluations of the effectiveness of mobile health in health promotion. Also, although many studies have referenced behavioral theory, none appears to have explicitly tested theoretical assumptions or demonstrated mechanisms of change. More robust evaluation models that incorporate theory and measurement of behavioral mediators are needed. As in all public health programs, mobile health operates within a social ecological context. For example, organizational- and individual-level programs seek to influence health and health care practices and individual health behaviors. New programs such as Text4baby demonstrate how theory and explicit testing of mediators can be incorporated in evaluations. There are challenges and opportunities facing mHealth evaluations given the nature of the mobile channel. Mobile communication is ubiquitous, available at all times and places, and thus experimental control is often difficult. Natural experiments using variation in dosage of mHealth and place- or location-based designs may increase experimental control. Text4baby is a text messaging program that provides prenatal care messages to pregnant women and new mothers. It uses a partnership model with health care facilities often serving as local implementation partners. The authors review a case example of the evaluation of Text4baby at Madigan Army Medical Center. Participants were randomized to usual prenatal care plus text messaging or usual care alone. The evaluation has a theoretical model of behavior change and measures mediators as well as behavioral outcomes. Results will inform how behavioral theory works within mobile health programs.