SMS Reminders in Various Countries and Patient Groups: A Narrative Literature Review
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Abstract
Background: Short Message Service (SMS) text messages are a widely recognized communication method, and it is currently being used to support patients’ adherence to treatment. There is some evidence that simple prompts, such as SMS reminders, may be a possible method to remind patients about their treatment (e.g. medication, appointments). However, systematic knowledge is still lacking for what purposes SMS reminders have been used within health care services.
Objective: To review the literature and identify countries and patient groups where SMS reminders have been used in health care.
Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review with narrative methods of studies into SMS reminders. The following electronic data bases were used: PubMed (MEDLINE), Cinahl, Proquest Databases/ PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and hand searching between 2003 and 2013. A hand search in all JMIR journals was conducted on August 2014. Studies reporting the use of SMS reminders aiming to remind patients in health care services were included. Given the heterogeneity in the studies, descriptive characteristics of the studies were synthesized using a narrative approach. We constructed a specific data extraction grid to collect information systematically related to our aims of the data synthesis. The data extraction was based on CONSORT-EHEALTH checklist where possible. The following information about data items was collected: author, year, country, and patient group. Descriptive characteristics of the studies were categorised manually on the basis of our research questions.
Results: From the total 911 initial citations, 60 studies were included in this review. The studies were mostly carried out in the United States (35%, n = 21), followed by the United Kingdom (15%, n = 9), Australia (8%, n = 5) leaving 25 studies (42%) in other countries (eg, the Netherlands, China, Brazil, Spain). The studies had a variety of participants; the most typical groups were patients with HIV/AIDS (15%, n = 9), diabetes (13%, n = 8), asthma (8%, n = 5) or schizophrenia (7%, n = 4). Other patient groups were only minority, such as patients with psoriasis, acne or epilepsy. The interventions focused, for example, on supporting patients’ medication adherence, treatment adherence, vaccine adherence or their clinical appointment attendance.
Conclusions: We can conclude that SMS reminders are widely used in the health care services worldwide, in different countries, and with many different patient groups. However, the lack of studies concerning patients with schizophrenia may tell us about the attitudes of health care personnel to the use mobile technology in practice. According to our findings, SMS reminders may be a promising reminding method in wide scope in health care services. However, more studies about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SMS reminders are needed, both in developed and developing countries.
Objective: To review the literature and identify countries and patient groups where SMS reminders have been used in health care.
Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review with narrative methods of studies into SMS reminders. The following electronic data bases were used: PubMed (MEDLINE), Cinahl, Proquest Databases/ PsycINFO, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Scopus, and hand searching between 2003 and 2013. A hand search in all JMIR journals was conducted on August 2014. Studies reporting the use of SMS reminders aiming to remind patients in health care services were included. Given the heterogeneity in the studies, descriptive characteristics of the studies were synthesized using a narrative approach. We constructed a specific data extraction grid to collect information systematically related to our aims of the data synthesis. The data extraction was based on CONSORT-EHEALTH checklist where possible. The following information about data items was collected: author, year, country, and patient group. Descriptive characteristics of the studies were categorised manually on the basis of our research questions.
Results: From the total 911 initial citations, 60 studies were included in this review. The studies were mostly carried out in the United States (35%, n = 21), followed by the United Kingdom (15%, n = 9), Australia (8%, n = 5) leaving 25 studies (42%) in other countries (eg, the Netherlands, China, Brazil, Spain). The studies had a variety of participants; the most typical groups were patients with HIV/AIDS (15%, n = 9), diabetes (13%, n = 8), asthma (8%, n = 5) or schizophrenia (7%, n = 4). Other patient groups were only minority, such as patients with psoriasis, acne or epilepsy. The interventions focused, for example, on supporting patients’ medication adherence, treatment adherence, vaccine adherence or their clinical appointment attendance.
Conclusions: We can conclude that SMS reminders are widely used in the health care services worldwide, in different countries, and with many different patient groups. However, the lack of studies concerning patients with schizophrenia may tell us about the attitudes of health care personnel to the use mobile technology in practice. According to our findings, SMS reminders may be a promising reminding method in wide scope in health care services. However, more studies about the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the SMS reminders are needed, both in developed and developing countries.
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