ArticlemHealth2018
Characteristics of mobile phone access and usage in rural and urban Guatemala: assessing feasibility of text message reminders to increase childhood immunizations.
Article in mHealth, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 10 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
10 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 24 citations in OpenAlex.
- Short message service (SMS) reminders for childhood immunisation in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ global health · 2021Pooled it
- Communication Technology Use by Caregivers of Adolescents With Mental Health Issues: Systematic Review.JMIR mHealth and uHealth · 2020Pooled it
- Barriers to the Use of Mobile Health in Improving Health Outcomes in Developing Countries: Systematic Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2019Pooled it
- Text message reminders to improve infant immunization in Guatemala: A randomized clinical trial.Vaccine · 2019Trial
- Text message reminders for visit adherence among non-communicable disease patients in Haiti: A pilot study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Acceptability of using mobile Health (mHealth) as an intervention tool for people with drug use disorders in Tanga, Tanzania.PLOS digital health · 2023Article
- Implementation of non-insulin-dependent diabetes self-management education (DSME) in LMICs: a systematic review of cost, adoption, acceptability, and fidelity in resource-constrained settings.Frontiers in health services · 2023Review
- Maternal and newborn health for the urban poor: the need for a new mental model and implementation strategies to accelerate progress.Globalization and health · 2022Review
- The Study on Public-Interest Short Message Service (SMS) in China during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Mobile User Survey and Content Analysis.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Reaching further: Lessons from the implementation of the WHO Basic Emergency Care Course Companion App in Tanzania.African journal of emergency medicine : Revue africaine de la medecine d'urgence · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundDespite efforts to promote vaccination in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), over 20 million infants remain under-immunized and at risk for unnecessary morbidity and mortality. Mobile health technologies, such as Short Message Service (SMS) texts, have tremendous and untapped potential for disease management. Patient reminder systems are an important mechanism for improving childhood vaccination coverage and can be easily adapted to SMS platforms. However, current research lacks an understanding of the barriers and facilitators to mHealth program design, implementation, and scale in LMICs.
methodsWe analyzed survey data collected March-November 2016 at the enrollment visit from a randomized controlled trial conducted at public health clinics in urban and rural Guatemala. Participants included eligible infants 6 weeks to 6 months of age receiving the first dose of the primary immunization series. At least one parent needed to own a mobile phone and be capable of deciphering SMS. Chi-square or Fisher's exact and Student's t-test were used to assess significance levels in demographic differences to describe factors that contribute to the feasibility of using an SMS-based vaccination reminder system.
resultsOf 1,088 families approached for enrollment, 871 were eligible and 720 (82.7%) participated with equal numbers of urban and rural children enrolled; 54 parents did not own a mobile phone with SMS capability and three parents could not use SMS. There was no significant difference between urban and rural maternal mobile phone ownership (94.4%
conclusionsOur study results provide important insight into mobile phone access, usage, and preferences for voice and text communication across rural and urban populations of an LMIC that can be used to inform future mHealth interventions. Our findings suggest that offering a combination of more traditional communication methods with newer, modern technologies may be more effective at reminding families about vaccination visits, particularly for our rural population, and that targeting mothers for mobile phone interventions may provide the greatest benefits. Overall, our study suggests that using SMS reminders in LMICs can be a feasible tool for public health interventions.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.