Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 17, 2025
Swabbing the Urban Environment - A Pipeline for Sampling and Detection of SARS-CoV-2 From Environmental Reservoirs
Published on: April 9, 2021
Design and implementation of a health messaging protocol employed for use within a COVID-19 health dissemination
Paulina M Colombo1, Sarah Freylersythe2,3, Mary Margaret Sprinkle4
1Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, College of Public Health, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, United States.
Introduction:
AZCOVIDTXT, a bilingual, two-way information sharing platform was created in April of 2020 in response to rising COVID-19 cases in Arizona. The aim of this paper is to delineate the protocol and processes used to develop and disseminate health messaging to serve as guidance for other groups, universities, or public health programs in the implementation or enhancement of health communication services.
Methods:
Health messaging formats included website articles, published on the system's website (azcovidtxt.org), infographics posted on social media, and SMS. Social media and SMS infographics were intended to highlight and augment the topics covered in the weekly website articles, to create a seamless multimodal source of reliable COVID-19 information for AZCOVIDTXT enrollees and the broader public. All health messaging information, text message and social media content was planned and reviewed collaboratively by the AZCOVIDTXT team topic experts for accuracy, efficacy, and content consistency.
Results:
As of July 2021, AZCOVIDTXT provided weekly COVID-19-related health communication to 3,747 participating households located across 225 Arizona zip codes. AZCOVIDTXT has developed and sent 446 unique, bilingual SMS for a total of 271,977 contact points. The team has produced and published 179 website articles, which averaged a combined 7,000-page views per month, and 173 social media posts were made available to 268 followers across three platforms.
Discussion:
Several programmatic aspects were deemed essential to the success of AZCOVIDTXT. These included (1) addressing community specific needs, (2) creating timely and relevant content, (3) developing an adaptable system, and (4) prioritizing system automation where possible, (5) having an interdisciplinary team approach to identifying and crafting key messages.
Related Concept Videos
01:26Methods Of Healthcare Delivery System
Managed Care System:
The managed care system is designed to control the cost while maintaining the quality of care. The patient's care from admission to discharge is planned by the primary care provider or the case manager, also known as the gatekeeper. In a managed care system, the number of care providers is...
01:30Health Information Technology and Healthcare Information System
Health Information Technology, commonly called HIT, integrates advanced information systems and technology in healthcare settings. Its primary functions include:
01:26Principles of Disease Surveillance
01:26Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
01:30Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...
01:25Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...