(Press-News.org) Contact: Rachel Griffith
rgriffith@hmhb.org
703-797-1945
Contact: Kathy Fackelmann
kfackelmann@gwu.edu
202-994-8354
George Washington University
Study of text messaging service shows participants prepared for motherhood
Following last week's mHealth Summit, the largest event of its kind where leaders focus on how wireless technology can improve health outcomes, text4baby announced results from the first randomized evaluation of its service. The largest mobile health initiative in the U.S., text4baby was found to be an effective service for pregnant women.
The George Washington University-led randomized evaluation found that text4baby mothers were "nearly three times more likely to believe that they were prepared to be new mothers compared to those in the no exposure control group." The study randomized participants to enroll in text4baby, the free mobile information service that provides pregnant women and moms with babies under age one with customized health and safety information and public health alerts.
"Pregnant women who received text messages on health topics were nearly three times more likely to believe that they were well-prepared to be new mothers compared to women in the control group," said lead author W. Douglas Evans, PhD, MA, professor of prevention and community health at SPHHS. "This first-of-a-kind study suggests that mobile phone technology can be used to motivate pregnant women to establish the habits they need to stay healthy and raise a healthy child."
All 123 participants in the pilot study were low-income pregnant women receiving care at the Fairfax County, Virginia Health Department and were primarily Spanish-speaking. Half of the women in the study received text4baby messages and continued their usual care while the control group received their usual care without the text messages. The study surveyed the women before receiving the text messages and at follow-up (approximately 28 weeks of baby's gestational age). Results demonstrated that text4baby participation improved a central belief among mothers that are targeted by the service - that the pregnant woman receiving text messages was prepared for motherhood.
The goal of the pilot study was to see if text messaging could be used to help the women understand the importance of not smoking, eating a healthy diet and other behaviors that can add up to health long after the baby is born, Evans said. The customized service seemed to pay off—at least in this pilot study: In addition to being more prepared for the arrival of a new baby, the pregnant women seemed more likely to understand the value of habits such as eating healthy foods or regular visits to a health provider or clinic.
"Results from this evaluation provide further evidence of the value of the text4baby service for pregnant women and mothers with babies under age one," said Sarah Ingersoll, Director, Text4baby. "We look forward to reaching more women and increasing their preparedness for motherhood."
The George Washington University Study participants completed a 24-item interviewer-administered questionnaire with data collection taking place from April 2011 - April 2012. The report was published on November 26 in the BMC Public Health Journal.
###
About text4baby:
Text4baby is the first, free mobile information service designed to promote maternal and child health through text messaging. A free program of the non-profit National Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition (HMHB), the founding sponsor is Johnson & Johnson. Founding partners include Voxiva, CTIA - The Wireless Foundation, and Grey Healthcare Group (a WPP company). Text4baby's public-private partnership also includes over 850 health departments, academic institutions, health plans, businesses, and the federal government. Women who text "BABY" (or "BEBE" for Spanish) to 511411 receive three free text messages a week, timed to their due date or their baby's birth date, through pregnancy and up until the baby's first birthday. The messages address topics such as immunization, nutrition, birth defect prevention, and safe sleep. Text4baby is the largest national mobile health initiative reaching over 450,000 moms since launch in 2010. To learn more, please visit text4baby.org.
About the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services:
Established in July 1997, the School of Public Health and Health Services brought together three longstanding university programs in the schools of medicine, business, and education and is now the only school of public health in the nation's capital. Today, more than 1,100 students from nearly every U.S. state and more than 40 nations pursue undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral-level degrees in public health. http://sphhs.gwu.edu/. END
Study of text messaging service shows participants prepared for motherhood
2012-12-10
ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:
'Public ecology' could help resolve mountaintop mining issues
2012-12-10
Mountaintop mining is the practice of using huge machines to remove layers of soil and rock to reach thin seams of coal.
It is an efficient way to reach the high-thermal value, low-impurity coal in the central Appalachian range, which accounts for one-fifth of the nation's coal, and it is a resource for American energy independence.
But it has disadvantages — mountaintops are deposited into valleys, trees and habitats are destroyed, chemical drainage may pollute streams, and many find it ugly.
Taking conflicts into account — such as the benefits of steady jobs and ...
Stem cell research provides hope for infertile cancer survivors
2012-12-10
Radiation and chemotherapy can pack a powerful punch against all kinds of cancers. Those who survive, however, are often left with bad news: Their treatments have rendered them infertile.
A UTSA professor has now demonstrated that it is possible to remove testicular stem cells from a monkey prior to chemotherapy, freeze them and later, after cancer treatments, transplant these cells where they can restart sperm production and restore fertility.
UTSA Assistant Professor Brian Hermann worked in collaboration with researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine's ...
Benefit of PET or PET/CT in recurrent bowel cancer is not proven
2012-12-10
For patients in whom a recurrence of bowel cancer is suspected, the study data currently available allow no robust conclusions as to the advantages and disadvantages of using positron emission tomography (PET), alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT). This is because no studies have directly compared the benefits of these imaging techniques in recurrent colorectal carcinoma (bowel cancer) with conventional diagnostic techniques. Although PET or PET/CT show a higher diagnostic accuracy, i.e. in certain cases recurrences can be detected more reliably, it is ...
In vitro study finds digested formula, but not breast milk, is toxic to cells
2012-12-10
Free fatty acids created during the digestion of infant formula cause cellular death that may contribute to necrotizing enterocolitis, a severe intestinal condition that is often fatal and occurs most commonly in premature infants, according to a study by University of California, San Diego bioengineers. Their report, which was based on in vitro tests comparing the digestion of fresh human breast milk and nine different infant formulas, was published online in the journal Pediatric Research.
Scientists have long known that premature infants fed formula are more likely ...
Metformin improves blood glucose levels and BMI in very obese children
2012-12-10
Chevy Chase, MD ––Metformin therapy has a beneficial treatment effect over placebo in improving body mass index (BMI) and fasting glucose levels in obese children, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). The study showed reduction in BMI was sustained for six months.
Childhood obesity has increased globally over the last two decades and it is linked to an increase in the diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in childhood, previously a condition that was only diagnosed in adults. Metformin ...
Mother's vitamin D level linked to birth weight
2012-12-10
Chevy Chase, MD –– Mothers' vitamin D levels at a gestation of 26 weeks or less were positively related to birth weight and head circumference, and, in the first trimester were negatively associated with risk of a baby being born small for gestational age, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
The major source of vitamin D for children and adults is exposure to natural sunlight. Very few foods naturally contain or are fortified with vitamin D. Thus, the major cause of vitamin ...
Characteristics of US science and engineering doctorates detailed in new report
2012-12-10
The National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics (NCSES) yesterday released a report titled Doctorate Recipients from U.S. Universities: 2010 that unveils important trends in U.S. doctoral education.
The report calls attention to the changing characteristics of U.S. doctorate recipients over time, including the increased representation of women, minorities and foreign nationals; the emergence of new fields of study; the time it takes to complete doctoral study; the expansion of the postdoctoral pool; and employment opportunities after graduation.
Understanding ...
Prevention through design: A new approach to reduce construction risks
2012-12-10
"Some of the most pressing occupational health hazard risks in construction" are associated with masonry operations, asphalt roofing, and welding, wrote Deborah Young-Corbett in an article recently accepted by the Journal of Civil Engineering and Management.
To reduce these health risks to construction workers, Young-Corbett, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering at Virginia Tech and a member of the university's Myers-Lawson School of Construction since 2007, has studied much of the existing literature, identifying numerous gaps or problems in current ...
Earphones, music players on kids' holiday gift lists? Add a hearing screening
2012-12-10
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Just yelling "turn it down" isn't enough when young people are blasting music directly into their ears via earbuds and headphones, parents say. A new poll from the University of Michigan shows parents are strongly in favor of required hearing screenings for kids all the way up to age 17.
The University of Michigan Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health recently asked a nationwide sample of parents of children 0-17 years old about whether they'd support requirements for hearing screening and where they'd prefer to have the screening ...
Internet use can reduce fatalistic view of cancer
2012-12-10
Washington, DC (December 10, 2012) – Many Americans have fatalistic views on cancer prevention—they believe that getting cancer is a matter of luck or fate. Recent research, published in the Journal of Communication, found that people who use the internet to inquire about their health are more likely to have a positive outlook on cancer prevention and diagnosis.
Chul-joo Lee, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Jeff Niederdeppe, Cornell University, and Derek Freres, University of Pennsylvania, published in the Journal of Communication their findings from a nationally ...