Related Experiment Video

Updated: May 15, 2026

A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level

A Point-of-Care Method with Integrated Decision Support Tool to Estimate Anemia at Population Level

Published on: January 19, 2024

Response patterns to interactive SMS health education quizzes at two sites in Uganda: a cohort study

Anne M de Lepper¹, Marinus J C Eijkemans, Hajo van Beijma

¹University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Tropical Medicine & International Health : TM & IH

|January 10, 2013

Abstract

Objective:

The use of mobile phones can improve and strengthen (preventive) health care in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to retrospectively assess the response patterns of participants in free SMS health education quizzes in Uganda.

Methods:

Study participants were employees of two companies and their community networks. We investigated how quickly individuals responded to quiz question(s) and assessed possible influencing factors. Cox regression and anova analyses were used.

Results:

Fifty percentage of responders answered within 50 min. The response chance declined with every additional day after sending an incentive via SMS (Hazard Ratio 0.993, CI 95% 0.981-0.984). Quiz topics influenced both participation rates and response time. Response time was shortest for questions on HIV and sexual behaviour. Response rates were high for HIV (79%) and malaria (78.4%), but only 37.4% for demographic topics. Network providers had a substantial effect on response behaviour.

Conclusion:

Interactive SMS programs are a fast method to reach the target population and incentives increase response rates. The most important factor influencing response time and participation rate is the network provider. Future research should focus on developing evidence-based guidelines for the design, implementation and evaluation of SMS-based interventions.

More Related Videos

An Application for Pairing with Wearable Devices to Monitor Personal Health Status

An Application for Pairing with Wearable Devices to Monitor Personal Health Status

Published on: February 3, 2022

Related Concept Videos

Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II

Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II

The person's health status fluctuates continually, varying from being in good health to becoming ill and returning to being healthy. To understand the concept of illness prevention, there are two models. First, the health-illness continuum model is a graphic representation of an individual's wellness. It states that a person is considered healthy in the absence of physical disease and the presence of good emotional health.
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results from...

Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I

Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I

A model is a theoretical way to understand a concept or an idea. Models can overcome barriers to health regardless of diverse economic and cultural backgrounds. In addition, models make the task easier by providing different ways to approach complex issues. There are two major health promotion models: the health belief model and the health promotion model.
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...

Study Designs in Epidemiology

Study Designs in Epidemiology

Epidemiological study designs are fundamental tools for investigating the distribution, determinants, and control of health conditions in populations. They help researchers understand the relationships between exposures and outcomes, and they broadly fall into two categories: "observational" and "experimental" studies.
Observational studies are those where the researcher does not intervene but rather observes natural variations. They include cross-sectional, cohort, and case-control studies.

Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention

Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention

Health promotion allows a person to control the determinants of health, resulting in an improved health status. It enhances the quality of life and reduces premature deaths. Health promotion and illness prevention programs help people make beneficial choices to reduce the risk of disease and disabilities. There are three health promotion and illness prevention levels: primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention.
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

The DIVINE dose-selection model in daily ART practice: effects on live birth rate and safety.

Reproductive biomedicine online·2026

Cohort data with dropout: a simulation study comparing five longitudinal analysis methods.

BMC medical research methodology·2025

Consumer wearable devices for evaluation of heart rate control using digoxin versus beta-blockers: the RATE-AF randomized trial.

Nature medicine·2024

Did aetiology matter in illness duration and complications in patients presenting in primary care with acute respiratory tract infections early in the COVID-19 pandemic: An observational study in nine countries.

The European journal of general practice·2024

Sharing Medical Big Data While Preserving Patient Confidentiality in Innovative Medicines Initiative: A Summary and Case Report from BigData@Heart.

Big data·2023

Assessment of risk of ALS conferred by the GGGGCC hexanucleotide repeat expansion in C9orf72 among first-degree relatives of patients with ALS carrying the repeat expansion.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis & frontotemporal degeneration·2023

See all related articles