Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35389364›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2022

Impact of SMS Text Messaging Reminders on Helmet Use Among Motorcycle Drivers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Benjamin Campbell, Jesse Heitner, Peter Amos Mwelelo, Alexis Fogel, Vaidehi Mujumdar, Lisa V Adams, Respicious Boniface, Yanfang Su

Registry-linked trialOpen access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT02120742 (The Impact Of Text Message), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 35% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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.

NCT02120742 nacompletednot on this map

The Impact Of Text Message (SMS) Reminders On Helmet Use Among Motorcycle Drivers In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

TypeinterventionalSponsorAmendRan2014 to 2015Enrolled391ConditionsRoad Traffic Injury Prevention, Helmet Use, mHealth InterventionArmsSMS message reminder
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 6 institutions in 3 countries.

Benjamin CampbellSchool of Education and Social Work, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-1548-1938
Jesse HeitnerInternational Clinical Research Center, Department of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-5349-8311
Peter Amos MweleloPetmos Attorneys, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.ORCID 0000-0003-3773-8984
Alexis FogelBenioff Children's Hospital Oakland, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-5256-9336
Vaidehi MujumdarDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Ichan School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York City, NY, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-5687-6667
Lisa V AdamsSection of Infectious Disease and International Health, Department of Medicine, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, NH, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-1303-2154
Respicious BonifaceAnaesthesiology Department, School of Medicine, Muhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences, Dar es Salaam, United Republic of Tanzania.ORCID 0000-0001-8430-456X
Yanfang SuDepartment of Global Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, United States.ORCID 0000-0001-7557-8518
University of Washington · USDartmouth College · USMuhimbili University of Health and Allied Sciences · TZNew York City Health and Hospitals Corporation · USThe University of Sydney · AUUniversity of California, San Francisco · US

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRoad traffic injury is a pressing public health issue in Tanzania. Increasing helmet use among motorcycle drivers can help reduce the burden due to road traffic injuries in the country. Helmet adherence can be supported through mobile health interventions.

objectiveThe aim of this study is to evaluate the comparative impact of two different types of SMS text messaging reminders on motorcycle helmet use.

methodsParticipants were 391 commercial motorcycle taxi drivers in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Participants were randomized into three groups, each receiving a different set of messages: (1) social norming messages aimed at emphasizing society's positive stance on helmet wearing, (2) fear appeal messages that emphasized the dangers of riding without a helmet, and (3) control group messages, which included basic road safety messages unrelated to helmet use. Every participant received the control messages. Adherence to helmet use was evaluated by self-report through surveys conducted at baseline, 3 weeks, and 6 weeks.

resultsAt 6 weeks, the odds of self-reporting consistent helmet use were estimated to be 1.58 times higher in the social norming group than in the control group (P=.04), though this difference was not significant after accounting for multiple testing. There was little difference between fear appeal and control group recipients (odds ratio 1.03, P=.47). Subgroup analysis suggests that both fear appeal and social norming message types might have been associated with increased helmet use among participants who did not consistently wear helmets at baseline (odds ratio 1.66 and odds ratio 1.84, respectively), but this was not significant (P=.11 and P=.07, respectively). Among those who were consistent wearers at baseline, the social norming messages performed better than the fear appeal messages, and this difference reached traditional significance (P=.03), but was not significant after accounting for multiple testing.

conclusionsThe use of SMS text messaging reminders may improve helmet use among motorcycle drivers when framed as social norming messages. Given that nearly half of the drivers in our sample did not consistently wear their helmets on every trip, strategies to increase consistent usage could greatly benefit public safety.

trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT02120742; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02120742.

Indexed as

TelemedicineText MessagingHead Protective DevicesHumansMotorcyclesTanzaniaautomotiveautomotive safetybehavior changemHealthmobile healthpublic transportationroad traffic injurysafetySMSSMS reminderstraffic injuriestransportationvehicle safety

Identifiers

PMID35389364
PMCPMC9030911
OpenAlexW3212272970

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

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.