Objective To investigate the feedback of continuing medical education (CME) based on short message service (SMS) for village doctors in Gaolan County of Gansu Province, and to explore how to improve the efficiency of CME based on SMS. Methods A total of 75 village doctors were investigated with a questionnaire when attending the training program conducted by the Health Bureau of Gaolan County. Results A total of 75 valid questionnaires were collected back. The statistical analyses showed that 56% of the doctors received the majority of the messages sent to them, of whom, 98% could read the messages promptly, 81% saved the majority of the messages they received, 98% could read the saved massages occasionally, 25% transmitted messages to others, 93% thought that the messages might be helpful in varying degrees, 96% would like to continue receiving the messages in the future, 51% thought the biggest shortcoming of the messages was the poor relevance to their concern, and 70% wanted the most to receive short messages about clinical diagnosis and treatment. At present, 39% of the doctors thought the most convenient approaches to get the updated medical knowledge are attending the study or training program organized by higher authorities, while 37% thought those are reading short messages on the mobile, websites or papers. Conclusion The village doctors are willing to receive the short messages about the best clinical evidence. However, both the receiving rate and use rate of the short messages have yet to improve. A complete SMS transmission system and highly-relevant contents are regarded as important guarantees for improving the receiving rate and use rate.
Objective To estimate the proportion of Chongqing TB patients who have access to mobile phones, to describe the utilization practice of those mobile phones, and to learn the general information of those TB patients, so as to provide feasibility basis for further intervention of SMS reminder systems. Methods The stratified cluster sampling method was used and four TB high-risk districts were selected. Both quantitative and qualitative research methods were used to interview the TB patients and suspects who had come to their local TB dispensaries during the past two months. The quantitative data was double entered using EpiData 3.1. The association of mobile phone utilization parameters with key variables was determined using chi-square test and logistic regression analyses. The qualitative data was managed, coded and retrieved using MAXQDA, and analyzed using thematic framework approach. Results Of the patients interviewed by quantitative research, the mobile phone ownership rate was 91.1%; 914 cases (80.4%) of the respondents were able to receive text messages; and most people (81%) held favorable opinions on SMS reminders. The main factors related to mobile phone ownerships and receiving SMS were age, occupation, education level, and place of residence. The male patients, in the age group of 19-49 years old, with education level of high school or higher were more likely to have access to mobile phones. The results from qualitative interview were similar. Conclusion Considering the high access to mobile phones of patients interviewed and patients’ views on SMS reminders, it is feasible to conduct a pilot intervention using SMS as a strategy to improve adherence to TB treatment in Chongqing.
Objective To systematically review the efficacy of short message intervention on glycosylated hemoglobin (HbAlc) and blood glucose levels on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Methods We electronically searched databases including PubMed, EMbase, The Cochrane Library, CNKI and CBM from inception to August 2016, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about short message intervention in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software. Results A total of 17 RCTs involving 2 879 patients were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, on the basis of basic treatment, the use of text messages could lower the levels of HbA1c (SMD3 months=–0.50, 95%CI –0.67 to –0.34, P<0.001; SMD6 months=–0.33, 95%CI –0.59 to –0.07, P=0.012), FBG (SMD3 months=–0.28, 95%CI –0.45 to –0.11, P=0.001; SMD9 months=–0.99, 95%CI –1.44 to –0.54, P<0.001), PBG (SMD3 months=–0.99, 95%CI –1.54 to –0.44, P<0.001; SMD6 months=–0.81, 95%CI –1.25 to –0.36, P<0.001; SMD9 months=–0.78, 95%CI –1.23 to –0.34, P=0.001). Conclusion The current evidence shows that the use of SMS can improve glycosylated hemoglobin and blood glucose levels on type 2 diabetes patients. Due to limited quality and quantity of the included studies, the above conclusions are needed to be verified by more high quality studies.
Objective To systematically review the effectiveness of short message intervention on smoking cessation. Methods Databases including PubMed, The Cochrane Library, EMbase, CBM were searched from inception to August 2016, to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) about short message service (SMS) for smoking cessation. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed the risk of bias of included studies. Then meta-analysis was performed using Stata 12.0 software. Results A total of 14 RCTs involving 15 543 participants were included. The results of meta-analysis showed that, compared with the control group, no significant difference was found in self-reported three months continuous abstinence (RR=0.830, 95%CI 0.679 to 1.014, P=0.069), 30 day point quit rate (RR=0.878, 95%CI 0.687 to 1.122, P=0.076). However, there were significant differences in the self-reported 7-day point abstinence (RR=1.149, 95%CI 1.014 to 1.303, P=0.03), the CO biochemical verification abstinence (RR=0.571, 95%CI 0.357 to 0.914, P=0.020), and the average number of cigarettes smoked per day (SMD=–0.25, 95%CI –0.37 to –0.12, P<0.001). Conclusion The available evidence indicates that short message intervention has a better effect on short-term smoking cessation. Therefore, more long-term studies are needed to determine the association between SMS and quit smoking behavior.
ObjectivesTo evaluate the effects of short message service (SMS) intervention for improving antiretroviral treatment adherence in HIV patients by meta-analysis.MethodsDatabases including PubMed, EMbase, CINAHL, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, The Cochrane Library, CNKI, WanFang Data, VIP and CBM were searched electronically from January 2000 to December 2018 to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the efficacy of SMS intervention on HIV patients. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data, and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Then, meta-analysis was performed using RevMan 5.3 software.ResultsA total of 10 RCTs with 2 411 patients were included. The meta-analysis showed that SMS intervention could improve significantly treatment adherence of HIV patients (RR=1.11, 95%CI 1.03 to 1.20, P<0.01). The subgroup analysis showed that weekly texting had an effect on treatment adherence (RR=1.15, 95%CI 1.00 to 1.33, P<0.05); personal sending (RR=1.17, 95%CI 0.99 to 1.38, P=0.06) and daily sending (RR=1.02, 95%CI 0.83 to 1.26, P=0.84) of SMS had no statistical significance on treatment adherence; the intervention duration of 6 months (RR=1.11, 95%CI 1.00 to 1.23, P=0.05) could improve the treatment adherence, while the intervention duration of 12 months (RR=1.07, 95%CI 0.98 to 1.17, P=0.13) had no statistical difference on treatment adherence; there was no statistical difference in CD4+ cell count before and after treatment (WMD=4.18, 95%CI −39.33 to 47.69, P=0.85).ConclusionsBy comparing SMS intervention with routine nursing, sending SMS weekly for 6 months to remind HIV patients to take medicine can improve treatment adherence. Due to the limitation of quantity and quality of the included studies, the above conclusions are required to be assessed by more high-quality studies.
ObjectiveTo systematically review the efficacy of interactive message management on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM).MethodsCNKI, VIP, WanFang Data, Web of Science, PubMed and The Cochrane Library databases were electronically searched to collect randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of T2DM with interactive message intervention from inception to May 2021. Two reviewers independently screened literature, extracted data and assessed risk of bias of included studies. Meta-analysis was then performed by using Revman5.3 software.ResultsA total of 17 RCTs involving 1 827 patients were included. Results of meta-analyses showed that compared with routine management, interactive message combined with routine management was associated with improvement of glycosylated hemoglobin, fasting blood glucose, body mass index, systolic blood pressure, and total cholesterol in T2DM patients. However, diastolic blood pressure, triglyceride, low-density lipoprotein, or high-density lipoprotein were not improved. ConclusionsThe current evidence shows that interactive message combined with routine management can significantly reduce blood glucose level, body mass index, systolic blood pressure and total cholesterol in T2DM patients. Due to the limited quality and quantity of the included studies, more high-quality studies are needed to verify the above conclusions.