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This study investigates the accuracy of a survey that combines smartphone completion, random digit dialing (RDD), and text message invitation to a web survey. A benchmarking study was conducted using 26 questionnaire items from a survey on wellbeing, health, and life in general. Additionally, methodological, technical, ethical, and cost considerations of this relatively new approach to web survey data collection were investigated, compared to previous research findings, and discussed with an aim to propose practical solutions. Ultimately, average errors in this survey were compared to average errors in three other probability samples and one nonprobability online panel sample (i.e., reference samples) using nationally representative benchmarks from high-quality government data sources. The results showed that the sample used in this study was similarly accurate to the reference samples from a different benchmarking study. Based on these findings, a very low response rate in the RDD text-to-web survey did not appear to introduce significant nonresponse bias for a majority of survey items, and all large errors can be explained. Hence, in countries where prior consent to text messages is not required, RDD text-to-web should be considered as a cost- and time-effective alternative to probability- and nonprobability-based online panel surveys, telephone, or interactive voice response surveys, and used in market, public opinion, and social research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the impact of the 2023 amendments to the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act (FTSA) and developments in the caselaw addressed FTSA clams. Topics discussed include history of the FTSA, the U.S. 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' decision regarding violation of the FTSA and the Telephone Consumer Protection Act in Drazen v. Pinto, and best practices for companies that use telemarketing and text message marketing to consumers to guard against liability exposure.

Purpose The fast-paced environment of the emergency department (ED), with frequent admissions, discharges, and transfers, poses a challenge for pharmacy departments to effectively distribute and store medications. The purpose of this study is to propose a unique workflow of patient-specific medication delivery to the ED from a hospital pharmacy to reduce the number of missing medications resulting in medication messages and redispenses. Methods The medication delivery workflow proposed in this study consists of batching the preparation and distribution of patient-specific medications sent from the pharmacy to the ED in the 1 to 2 hours prior to their administration time. Chi-square analysis was completed to compare medication redispenses and "missing medication" messages before and after the intervention, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. Results The percentage of redispensed medications was effectively decreased following implementation of the workflow change from 21.6% to 9.2% (P < 0.001), with unit doses having the greatest reduction (25.8% vs 6.1%, P < 0.001). Benefits of this workflow change were also illustrated through a reduction in the percentage of missing-medication messages sent by nursing staff from 97.7% to 93.9% (P < 0.001). Conclusion This study showed that implementation of standard, hourly batches of medications dispensed from the pharmacy to the ED resulted in a significant reduction in the total percentage of redispensed medications and missing-medication messages. The overall reduction in redispensed medications as a result of this innovative workflow change not only benefited nursing and pharmacy staff but can reduce medication waste and improve patient care through timely administration of medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The optimal management of placenta accreta spectrum (PAS) requires the participation of multidisciplinary teams that are often not locally available in low‐resource settings. Telehealth has been increasingly used to manage complex obstetric conditions. Few studies have explored the use of telehealth for PAS management, and we aimed evaluate the usage of telehealth in the management of PAS patients in low‐resource settings. Methods: Between March and April 2023, an observational, survey‐based study was conducted, and obstetricians‐gynecologists with expertise in PAS management in low‐ and middle‐income countries were contacted to share their opinion on the potential use of telehealth for the diagnosis and management of patients at high‐risk of PAS at birth. Participants were identified based on their authorship of at least one published clinical study on PAS in the last 5 years and contacted by email. This is a secondary analysis of the results of that survey. Results: From 158 authors contacted we obtained 65 responses from participants in 27 middle‐income countries. A third of the participants reported the use of telehealth during the management obstetric emergencies (38.5%, n = 25) and PAS (36.9%, n = 24). Over 70% of those surveyed indicated that they had used "informal" telemedicine (phone call, email, or text message) during PAS management. Fifty‐nine participants (90.8%) reported that recommendations given remotely by expert colleagues were useful for management of patients with PAS in their setting. Conclusion: Telehealth has been successfully used for the management of PAS in middle‐income countries, and our survey indicates that it could support the development of specialist care in other low resource settings. Synopsis: Most obstetricians who provide care for patients with placenta accreta spectrum in low resource settings consider telemedicine useful for management of this complex condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Approximately 25% of accidents in the United States are caused by texting while driving, prompting the creation of several media campaigns to reduce such risky behavior. The current research examined whether death-related advertisements increase cell phone use while driving. Studies 1-3 found that individuals engaged in greater distracted driving in the presence of a mortality-themed texting advertisement. Study 2 demonstrated that participants were more likely to text on their cell phone using a driving simulator, leading to more swerving and collisions after viewing a death-related (vs. neutral) poster. Finally, using eye-tracking, Study 3 showed that participants who viewed a death advertisement looked away from the road and texted more as compared to persons in the control condition. Implications and future directions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Distracted driving is a leading cause of motor vehicle crashes, and cell phone use is a major source of in-vehicle distraction. Many states in the United States have enacted cell phone use laws to regulate drivers' cell phone use behavior to enhance traffic safety. Numerous studies have examined the effects of such laws on drivers' cell phone use behavior based on self-reported and roadside observational data. However, little was known about who actually violated the laws at the enforcement level. This study sought to uncover the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving and whether these characteristics changed over time since the enactment of cell phone laws. We acquired useable traffic citation data for 7 states in the United States from 2010 to 2020 and performed descriptive and regression analyses. Male drivers were cited more for cell phone use while driving. Handheld and texting bans were associated with a greater proportion of cited drivers aged 40 and above, compared to texting-only bans. Trends in the citations issued based on drivers' age group following the enactment of different cell phone laws were also uncovered. The proportion of citations issued to drivers aged 60 and above increased over time but the temporal trend remained insignificant when population effect was considered. This study examined the demographic characteristics of drivers cited for cell phone use while driving in selected states with texting-only bans or handheld and texting bans. The results reveal policy-based differences in trends in the proportion of citations issued to drivers in different age groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusionTo assess the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary impact of Kick Vaping among Latino young adults.Forty Latino young adults (ages 18 to 25) who were currently vaping received Kick Vaping, a vaping cessation text messaging intervention available in English and Spanish. Feasibility was measured by the eligibility, enrollment, and follow-up rates. Acceptability was measured by overall satisfaction with the intervention. Preliminary impact was measured by self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence and changes in self-efficacy.Two hundred three individuals were identified, 61 were assessed for eligibility, and 55 were eligible. Forty individuals consented to participate and were enrolled in Kick Vaping. At baseline, most participants used disposable devices (70%), vaped daily (97.5%), had low (37.5%) or medium (35.0%) e-cigarette dependence, and had attempted to quit in the past year (72.5%). At Month 3, the follow-up rate was 90% (36/40). Treating those lost to follow-up as participants who continued vaping, 75% (30/40) of participants self-reported 7-day point prevalence abstinence. Self-efficacy mean scores significantly increased from 30.65 (SD 8.07) at baseline to 50.11 (SD 10.57) at follow-up (p < 0.01). Most participants (88.9%, 32/36) reported being satisfied/extremely satisfied with Kick Vaping.It is feasible to recruit and retain Latino young adults in a vaping cessation text messaging intervention. Kick Vaping generated high satisfaction among Latino young adults, significantly increased self-efficacy, and resulted in a notable vaping cessation rate at Month 3. Additional testing in a randomized controlled trial is warranted to assess the efficacy of the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Family planning (FP) is crucial for reducing maternal and infant mortality and morbidity, particularly through the prevention of unsafe abortions resulting from unwanted pregnancies. Despite Cameroon's commitment to increasing the adoption of modern FP strategies, rural and poor populations still exhibit low demand due to limited access to healthcare services. This study documents the approach in developing family planning messages for the BornFyne prenatal management system as a platform to improve family planning awareness and enhance uptake. Method: This is a mixed-methods study that employed the Health Belief Model (HBM). The study included a cross-sectional survey and focus group discussions in four districts of Cameroon. The survey explored household perspectives of FP and the use of mobile phone. Focus group discussions involved women, men, and community health workers to gain in-depth insights. Thematic analysis using themes from the HBM guided the analysis, focusing on perceived benefits, barriers, and cues to action. Results: The survey included 3,288 responses. Thematic analysis of focus group discussions highlighted knowledge gaps and areas requiring additional information. Identified gaps informed the development of targeted FP messages aligned with BornFyne objectives and the Health Belief Model. Results revealed that most respondents recognized the benefits of FP but faced knowledge barriers related to side effects, cultural influences, and communication challenges between partners. Focus group discussions further highlighted the need for education targeting both men and women, dispelling misconceptions, and addressing adolescent and youths' ignorance. The study emphasized the importance of tailored messaging for specific demographic groups and culture. Conclusion: Developing effective FP intervention messages requires a nuanced understanding of community perspectives. The BornFyne-PNMS family planning feature, informed by the Health Belief Model, addresses knowledge gaps by delivering educational messages in local dialects via mobile phones. The study's findings underscore the importance of community-based approaches to contextualizing and developing FP content targeting specific populations to generate tailored messages to promote awareness, acceptance, and informed decision-making. The contextualized and validated messages are uploaded into the BornFyne-family planning feature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mounting evidence that growth mindset—the belief that intelligence is not fixed and can be developed—improves educational outcomes has spurred additional interest in how to measure and promote it in other contexts. Most of this research, however, focuses on high‐income countries, where the most common protocols for measuring and intervening on student mindsets rely on connected devices—often unavailable in low‐ and middle‐income countries' schools. This paper develops a toolkit to measure student mindsets in resource‐constrained settings, specifically in the context of Brazilian secondary public schools. Concretely, we convert the computer‐based survey instruments into text messages (SMS). Collecting mindset survey data from 3570 students in São Paulo State as schools gradually reopened in early 2021, we validate our methodology by matching key patterns in our data to previous findings in the literature. We also train a machine learning model on our data and show that it can (1) accurately classify students' SMS responses, (2) accurately classify student mindsets even based on text written in other media, and (3) rate the fidelity of different interventions to the published growth mindset curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: There is increasing evidence in favor of enhancing adherence to antiretroviral therapy (ART) in people living with HIV (PLHIV) through mobile health (mHealth) assessment and intervention. The study aims to establish the willingness to adopt mobile phone technology to enhance adherence to ART among PLHIV. Methods: The Researchers adopted a cross-sectional survey. Systematic sampling was employed in selecting 237 PLHIV in the HIV clinic for adults at Ido-Ekiti's Federal Teaching Hospital, Nigeria. Data collection was via a 33-item semi-structured questionnaire administered by the interviewer. Information collected via the questionnaire included details on ownership of mobile phone technology, its usage, and willingness to use it to improve adherence to HIV medication. Descriptive statistics coupled with multivariate regression was employed in analyzing data, with the level of significance at 5%. Results: The respondent's had a mean ±SD age of 46.6 ±10 years. Most of the participants were female (77.6%), and have been on ART for over 2years (88.2%). The vast majority of study participants 233 (98.3%) owned a mobile phone. 168 (70.9%) of them were willing to embrace mHealth interventions on medication adherence. Some of the factors influencing the respondent's willingness to receive the intervention were older age (OR = 0.05, 95%Cl:[0.01–0.24]), having formal education (OR = 7.12, 95%Cl:[3.01–16.53]), being diagnosed over 10years ago (OR = 15.63, 95%Cl:[3.02–80.83]) and previous use of phone to send text messages, record video, access the internet, send email and search the internet for health-related information (OR = 2.2, 95%Cl:[1.2–3.9]; OR = 1.8, 95%Cl:[1.0–3.2]; OR = 2.5, 95%Cl:[1.4–4.7]; OR = 2.7, 95%Cl:[1.2–5.5] and OR = 2.0, 95%Cl:[1.0–3.8]) respectively. Conclusion: Many of the PLHIV had a cellphone and expressed willingness on their part to use it in receiving reminders to take their medication. Older age, formal education and internet users were significantly more willing to get reminders to take their medication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diet and exercise are important components of treatment for complex chronic conditions, however access to allied health support is limited. When available, support is often siloed and fragmented. Digital health incorporating patient choice may help to align health care services with preferences and goals. This study evaluated the implementation of a ubiquitously accessible patient-centred digital health diet and exercise service. Methods: U-DECIDE was a single-centre, 26-week randomised controlled trial set in kidney and liver disease clinics in a tertiary hospital in Brisbane, Australia. Participants were adults with a complex chronic condition referred for dietetic consultation with at least one feature of the metabolic syndrome. All participants received a dietary consultation, an activity monitor and usual care. Intervention participants were offered one text message per week and access to additional digital health options (increased text message frequency, nutrition app, exercise app, group-based diet and/or exercise video consultations). The primary outcome of feasibility was determined by safety (study-related serious adverse events: SRSAEs), recruitment (≥ 50% eligible patients), retention (≥ 70%), exposure uptake (≥ 75% of intervention group had greater access to health professional contact than comparator) and video consultation adherence (≥ 80% attendance). Secondary outcomes included process evaluation metrics and clinical outcomes. Results: Of 67 participants (intervention n = 33, comparator n = 34), 37 (55%) were men, median (IQR) age was 51 (41–58) years. The most chosen digital health options were the nutrition app (n = 29, 88%) and exercise video consultations (n = 26, 79%). Only one participant chose no additional digital health options. The intervention group had no SRSAEs. The study exceeded targets for recruitment (52%), retention (81%) and exposure uptake (94%). Video consultation adherence was 42%. Engagement across digital health options was inconsistent. Conclusions: Digital health options incorporating patient choice were feasible and can be offered to people with complex chronic disease as a service model option. Trial registration: Australia and New Zealand Trials Register: Trial Registration Number: ACTRN12620001282976. Registered 27th November 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous security domains would benefit from improved employee risk recognition and reporting through effective security training. This study assesses the effectiveness of a new skills-based training approach to improve risk recognition and reporting of malicious elicitations. Malicious elicitations are techniques that strategically use conversation (i.e., online, in writing, in person, or over the phone) with the sole purpose of collecting sensitive, non-publicly available information about business operations, people, or technological assets without raising suspicion. To an untrained observer, a skilled elicitor can make conversations seem analogous to many professional networking situations such as those experienced over email and at conferences. A 12-month longitudinal experimental study was conducted to test training effectiveness on employees of a large corporation that focuses on serving national security needs and the public interest. Half of participants were randomly assigned to receive traditional awareness-based training (i.e., reviewing informational slides) while the other half of participants received a new skills-based training that allowed them--over the course of five weeks--to iteratively practice skills learned in the training and receive feedback on their performance in their day-to-day work environment. Following training for both experimental groups, malicious elicitations and benign professional networking test messages were sent (via email & text message) to unaware employee participants for 12 months. Findings revealed that skillsbased training improved reporting of malicious elicitations and lasted for up to 12 months compared to traditional awareness-based training.e [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hypertensive disorders of pregnancy are a leading cause of pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality. The primary objective of this study was to compare the frequency of documentation of postpartum blood pressure through remote blood pressure monitoring with text-message delivered reminders versus office-based follow-up 7–10 days postpartum. The secondary objective was to examine barriers and facilitators of both care strategies from the perspectives of individuals who experienced a hypertensive disorder of pregnancy. We conducted a randomized controlled trial at a tertiary care academic medical center in the southeastern US with 100 postpartum individuals (50 per arm) from 2018 to 2019. Among 100 trial participants, blood pressure follow-up within 7–10 days postpartum was higher albeit not statistically significant between postpartum individuals randomized to the remote assessment intervention versus office-based standard care (absolute risk difference 18.0%, 95% CI −0.1 to 36.1%, p = 0.06). Patient-reported facilitators for remote blood pressure monitoring were maternal convenience, clarity of instructions, and reassurance from the health assessments. These positive aspects occurred alongside barriers, which included constraints due to newborn needs and the realities of daily postpartum life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectivesMethodsResultsConclusionClinical ImplicationsTo examine the associations between participant intensity of engagement with a text message intervention, CuidaTEXT, and socio-demographic factors, acceptability measures, and clinical outcomes among Latino/a caregivers of individuals with dementia.CuidaTEXT is a six-month, bilingual, and bidirectional intervention. We enrolled 24 Latino/a caregivers in a one-arm feasibility trial. Participants received approximately one automatic daily text message and could engage with the intervention by texting specific keywords (e.g. STRESS to receive messages about stress-coping), and by chat-texting with a live coach. We used metrics and psychometric scales to quantify variables.Participants sent a total of 1847 messages to CuidaTEXT. Higher intensity of engagement was associated with higher intervention satisfaction (r = 0.6, p = 0.007), as were several other acceptability outcomes. We found no associations between intensity of engagement with CuidaTEXT and sociodemographic or clinical outcomes (p > 0.05).Encouraging more intense engagement with CuidaTEXT might lead to higher levels of satisfaction with the intervention. However, it is possible that those who are highly satisfied, engage more intensely with CuidaTEXT. Future research should determine the directionality of these associations to optimize text message interventions.Creating more opportunities to increase the intensity of text message engagement with caregiver support interventions may improve caregiver satisfaction with them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The primary objective of this study was to investigate whether using a novel text messaging system improves patient overall satisfaction compared to standard care. Secondary objectives included assessing the impact of the text messaging system on decreasing narcotic usage, the number of emergency department visits, the range of flexion and extension, and number of telephone calls to the surgeon's office. Methods: We enrolled 217 patients to either receive informative text messages (text messaging group, n = 86) or no additional text messages (conventional group, n = 131). Patients self-reported results on a questionnaire at the 6-week follow-up regarding the primary and secondary objectives. The active range of motion of total knee arthroplasty patients was recorded by the surgeon or treating physiotherapist. Results: There was no significant difference in overall satisfaction (P = 0.644), narcotic cessation (P = 0.185), range of motion (Flexion P = 0.521; Extension P = 0.515), and emergency department visits (P = 0.650) between the two groups. There was a statistically significant decrease in surgeon office calls favoring the text messaging group (P = 0.029). A subgroup analysis revealed that the statistical difference was mainly in the TKA group (P = 0.046). Conclusions: A novel text messaging system may help reduce the work burden by decreasing telephone calls to the surgeon's office. While satisfaction, narcotic usage, emergency department visits, and range of motion did not significantly differ, patients endorsed the system for friends/family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study examined the effect of a delay on naturalistic time-based prospective memory (PM) tasks. Two experiments were performed to compare PM performance on a texting task with delays of 1 to 6 days after an initial session. In the first experiment, half of the participants were asked to repeat their response with the same delay to test whether requiring a second response (i.e., a repeated PM task, such as taking medication at the same time each day) would affect time-based PM performance. In the second experiment, participants were given an implicit or an explicit reminder several hours before their time to respond to examine the effect of type of reminder on this PM task. The results of both experiments showed a significant decline in PM performance between the 1-day and multi-day delays. Repeating responses (Experiment 1) had no effect on accuracy of the PM task, but in Experiment 2, explicit experimenter-initiated reminders significantly increased time-based PM performance compared with implicit reminders. These results are discussed in the context of previous studies that have tested delay effects on time-based PM and current theoretical descriptions of time-based PM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the prevalence of De Quervain's tensosynovitis among smart phone users caused by excessive text messaging in undergraduate students of Gujranwala. Study Design: Cross Sectional study. Setting: Data was collected from different Institutes of Gujranwala City in the Institutes i.e. Elite College Gujranwala, Gujranwala Institute of Medical Sciences, Gujranwala Medical College, and Degree College Gujranwala. Period: 01-01-2022 to 30-06-2022. Methods: Institutes were selected by convenience sampling technique. 8 male and 12 female institutes were selected. The sample size at the time of study were 300. In this investigation, non-probability convenience sampling technique was used. Results: Results show that youngsters using smartphone frequently showed more positive result for Dequervain tenosynovitis (Finkelstein test p-value < 0.05). Conclusion: De Quervain's tenosynovitis is most prevalent among females. People with the age group of 20-21 are most effected as compared to the other age groups. Because of their repetitive usage of smartphone experiencing ache and weakness over the base of pollex or wrist. There seems to be a direct link among heavy text communications on a smartphone and prevalence of Dequervain tenosynovitis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research has shown that emoji can determine how interlocutors who use emoji are perceived (e.g., warmer) and can help complement written communication (e.g., clarify the meaning of a message). We argue that reciprocal emoji use may be particularly beneficial for user perceptions and communication outcomes. In two experiments (N = 568), we examined if using emoji, and reciprocating emoji use, in a work context (i.e., message between colleagues) influenced inferences about interlocutors and communication outcomes (Study 1), and if such effects differed according to the level of conflict between interlocutors (Study 2). Study 1 showed that using (vs.) resulted in higher perceptions of warmth, playfulness, and message's positivity, whereas no benefits of using (vs.) were observed. Likewise, reciprocating emoji use (vs. no emoji) resulted in higher perceptions of warmth, playfulness, and communication positivity. Study 2 showed only an effect of conflict in the scenario, such that, regardless of reciprocal emoji use, in the lower (vs. higher) conflict situation, perceptions of the interlocutor (e.g., warmer, more competent, more playful), and the conversation (e.g., messages more positive, less confrontational) were more favorable. Overall, our results reinforce the importance of emoji valence for person perception and communication outcomes, while also suggesting some emoji may not impact communication under specific circumstances (e.g., during situations of conflict). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: South Africa has the highest rate of fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) globally. As with alcohol use during pregnancy, alcohol consumption while breastfeeding adversely impacts infant development. We pilot tested an incentive‐based text‐messaging intervention to reduce alcohol use during pregnancy and lactation in South Africa. Methods: A single‐arm pilot trial was conducted over 3 months in healthcare facilities in Cape Town, South Africa. Pregnant and breastfeeding participants tested positive for recent alcohol use by urinalysis. The three‐month intervention had two components, contingency management of alcohol abstinence confirmed by urinalysis twice weekly and weekly health‐related text messaging from an evidence‐based brief intervention. We collected twice weekly urine samples for measurement of ethyl glucuronide (EtG), an alcohol biomarker, and measures of self‐reported alcohol and drug use, violence exposure, and mental health at six weeks and three months post‐enrollment. Results: Sixty participants were enrolled, of whom 31 were pregnant and 29 lactating. The number of days with four or more drinks in the past month decreased from 9 days at baseline, on average, to 1–3 days (p‐value range: 0.144–0.010) at follow‐up timepoints. There were statistically significant increases in the proportions of participants with alcohol‐negative urine tests (p < 0.001). The percentages of participants breastfeeding while using alcohol decreased from baseline to the end of 3 months in the overall sample and among those enrolled postpartum, though these were not significant (p‐value range: 0.255–0.147). Maternal depression scores also decreased among participants enrolled postpartum (p = 0.054). Emotional abuse by the main partner, but neither physical nor sexual abuse, significantly decreased at both follow‐ups in the overall sample (p = 0.032) and among participants enrolled while pregnant (p = 0.015). Conclusions: This study is among the first to pilot test an incentive‐based text‐messaging intervention for maternal alcohol use and other outcomes such as depression and violence exposure. Further testing is warranted in a well‐powered, randomized controlled trial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Government agencies have increasingly established their official accounts to disseminate information and publish rumourrefuting messages (RRMs) on social media platforms. However, little is known about what factors facilitate users to engage in RRMs posted by government accounts. To bridge this gap, our study borrows the lens of persuasion theory to frame a research model and unmask the precursors that foster social media users to engage in RRMs. By analysing RRMs published by 10 influential government official accounts spanning 9 years, a field study on Sina Weibo finds that the text length of an RRM is associated with a higher probability of liking, commenting on, and sharing the RRM, while the inclusion of links in RRMs is negatively linked to user engagement. The effect of the existence of photos and videos on user engagement in RRMs depends on different engaging behaviours. The inclusion of emojis in RRMs helps shorten users' psychological distance from the authorities, thereby facilitating user engagement behaviours. Using rhetorical questions is associated with a higher level of user engagement (including liking and sharing) in RRMs by increasing personal relevance. This study offers new insights into online rumour governance and practical suggestions for promoting government social media publicity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: During the COVID-19 pandemic, public health institutions, particularly the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), were frequently attacked by politicians. Popular trust in these institutions declined, particularly among self-identified Republicans. Therefore, the effectiveness of public health institutions as vaccination messengers might have been weakened in the post-COVID-19 period. We conducted a survey experiment examining the effectiveness of messaging from the CDC in shaping people's attitudes toward mandatory MMR (measles-mumps-rubella) vaccination for schoolchildren. Methods: The experiment was embedded in a survey fielded in South Dakota, a "red state" with a population predisposed to distrust the CDC. Using registration-sampling, we received 747 responses. We used difference-in-means tests and multivariate regression to analyze the data. Results: We found that participants who received a message from the CDC were more likely to support MMR vaccine mandate for schoolchildren than participants who received the same prompt from a state agency. Further analyses showed that messaging from the CDC was particularly effective among Republicans. Discussion: Overall, our study showed that although the CDC was caught up in the political skirmishes during the COVID-19 pandemic, it remains an authoritative source of public health information. Conclusions: Public health officials at the local and state levels should not shy away from referring to the CDC in their vaccination messaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Suicide and self-injurious behavior (SSIB) in youth 10 to 14 years old has rapidly increased, with suicide rates for youth 10 to 18 years being the second leading cause of death. Youth with SSIB seen in the Emergency Department (ED) are often discharged to the community, yet less than 40% receive subsequent mental health (MH) care within 30 days. This open pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and sample characteristics of a two-component Family Navigator with text messaging intervention, ED REaCH, for caregivers of youth with SSIB discharged from the ED. METHODS: Sixteen dyads of youth (M=12.67; SD=1.09) seeking emergency care for SSIB and their caregivers were enrolled from the ED of a pediatric hospital in the northeast US from November 2023 to March 2024. Dyads were enrolled in the ED REaCH intervention consisting of navigation procedures to promote linkage to care, engagement in community-based MH care for youth with SSIB, and a digital platform to extend purported mechanisms underlying the intervention's efficacy (MH literacy, MH communication, and MH engagement). Data was collected on measures of social identities, demographics, functioning, MH services, and intervention satisfaction. RESULTS: All (100%) caregivers accepted the text messages. Most (75%) utilized the Family Navigator and completed the intervention feedback interviews. Overall, caregivers endorsed positive experiences and satisfaction with the two-component intervention. All caregivers who utilized the Family Navigator reported that 100% of youth attended MH care. CONCLUSION: Preliminary findings suggest that the content and delivery methods of this intervention are perceived by caregivers as feasible and acceptable. As such, next steps include the evaluation of the ED REaCH intervention in a randomized clinical trial design. Future directions need to focus on intervention scalability, adaptability, personalization, and sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the requirements for accessible Autonomous Vehicles (AVs) and AV services from a consumer perspective, focusing on people with disabilities (PwDs) and older adults. Two national surveys were conducted, capturing current transportation trends and AV priorities. Participants (n = 922) with disabilities and older adults were included in the analysis. Transportation choices exhibited significant divergence based on the underlying causes of disabilities, showcasing distinct inclinations and impediments within each category. AV services, encompassing family conveyance and package delivery, proved integral, but their specific desirability fluctuated in accordance with the nature of disabilities. Notably, medical appointments emerged as the foremost AV utilisation requirement, particularly pronounced among individuals with hearing impairments. Preferences for orchestrating AV rides and the preferred vehicle types displayed disparities linked to the various disability classifications. The employment of mobile applications, websites, and text messages were preferred mediums for arranging rides. Features such as automated route guidance and collision prevention garnered unanimous precedence among AV attributes. Key priorities, spanning wheelchair accessibility, user profiles, and seamless communication with AVs, were universally emphasised across all participant clusters. The study indicated a moderate comfort level with AV deployment, implying the potential for favourable reception within the population of PwDs and older adults. The study highlights the significance of considering diverse needs in accessible AV development of vehicle and infrastructure and policies. The findings inform evidence-based interventions and programmes that prioritise accessibility needs, promoting social inclusion and equitable transportation solutions. Continued research and advocacy are essential for successful autonomous vehicle integration, catering to the needs of all individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite the growing adoption of digital health tools as a means to support mental health, many individuals remain unaware of the variety of mental health resources available to them through this format. To address this knowledge gap, this study advanced the design, development, and implementation of a text-based service called SaskWell to raise awareness of evidence based mental health resources and create more immediate connections to these tools. The two primary objectives of the study were to assess and evaluate the adoption of SaskWell by focusing on user acceptance, satisfaction, and perceived benefit, and to identify factors which contributed to user engagement with the SaskWell text-based service. Both quantitative and qualitative data contributed to the final study results. Results: This study utilized a co-designed text-messaging service to provide residents of Saskatchewan an important connection to digital mental health and wellness resources during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using the RE-AIM framework as an implementation guide, four distinct cycles of SaskWell were delivered with modifications to the service in each subsequent cycle based on user engagement, feedback, and the direction of a community advisory group. Quantitative data was collected through user engagement text message response data, along with enrollment and exit surveys, while semi-structured interviews served as the primary means of qualitative data collection. In addition to the quantitative user data, these user interviews resulted in themes exploring motivation to sign-up for the service, perceptions of texting as a mechanism to deliver mental health resources, the impact of SaskWell on mental health and well-being, and beliefs on the future potential of text-based mental health supports. Conclusions: Both the user engagement survey and the qualitative data supported the worth of ongoing efforts to refine and extend the use of text messaging as a means to engage citizens around the awareness and use of digital mental health and wellness resources. As the pandemic has receded into the background in many peoples' daily lives, for healthcare providers, and others who continue to be impacted more heavily by the persistent challenges of this global event, this type of service may continue to be timely. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States. Lung cancer screening (LCS) decreases lung cancer mortality. Emergency department (ED) patients are at disproportionately high risk for lung cancer. The ED, therefore, is an optimal environment for interventions to promote LCS. Demonstrate the operational feasibility of identifying ED patients in need of LCS, referring them to LCS services, deploying a text message intervention to promote LCS, and conducting follow-up to determine LCS uptake. We conducted a randomized clinical trial to determine the feasibility and provide estimates of the preliminary efficacies of 1) basic referral for LCS and 2) basic referral plus a text messaging intervention, grounded in behavioral change theory, to promote uptake of LCS among ED patients. Participants aged 50 to 80, identified as eligible for LCS, were randomized to study arms and followed up at 150 days to assess interval LCS uptake (primary outcome), barriers to screening, and perceptions of the study interventions. A total of 303 patients were surveyed, with 198 identified as eligible for LCS and subsequently randomized. Results indicated that 24% of participants with follow-up data received LCS (11% of the total randomized sample). Rates of screening at follow-up were similar across study arms. The intervention significantly improved normative perceptions of LCS (p = 0.015; Cohen's d = 0.45). This pilot study demonstrates the feasibility of ED-based interventions to increase uptake of LCS among ED patients. A scalable ED-based intervention that increases LCS uptake could reduce lung cancer mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual Villages—online communities that deliver supports to promote aging in place—are proposed to mitigate isolation and support the health of aging populations. Using a community-engaged approach, we developed and pilot-tested a Virtual Village intervention tailored for people living with HIV (PLWH) aged 50+. The intervention employed a Discord server featuring social interaction, regional and national resources, expert presentations, and mindful meditation exercises. In 2022, a sample of PLWH aged 50+ from three U.S. study sites participated in a four-week pilot. Pre- and post-intervention surveys assessed participants' demographic characteristics; degree of loneliness, social connectedness, HIV-related stigma, and technology acceptance; mental wellbeing and physical health outcomes; and user experience. Participants (N = 20) were socioeconomically and racially/ethnically diverse, aged 51–88 years, and predominantly identified as gay or bisexual men (75%). Paired t-tests revealed a significant increase in participants' mean social engagement scores and a significant decrease in participants' mean negative affect scores, following the intervention. User experience scores were acceptable and participants reported a positive sense of connectedness to the Virtual Village community. Results suggest that a virtual community can be accessible to older PLWH and may enhance social engagement and improve aspects of mental wellbeing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Men who have sex with men (MSM) are disproportionately affected by HIV. Given that over 70% of MSM meet sexual partners via dating apps, such apps may be an effective platform for promoting HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use. We aimed to describe preferences among MSM for PrEP advertisements displayed on dating apps. We conducted individual in-depth interviews with 16 MSM recruited from a mobile sexual health unit in Boston, Massachusetts. Two focus groups were also held: one with mobile unit staff (N = 3) and one with mobile unit users (N = 3). Content analysis was used to identify themes related to advertisement content and integration with app use. Mean participant age was 28 (SD 6.8); 37% identified as White and 63% as Latinx. 21% of interviews were conducted in Spanish. Preferences were organized around four themes: (1) relevant and relatable advertisements, (2) expansion of target audiences to promote access, (3) concise and captivating advertisements, and (4) PrEP advertisements and services as options, not obligations. MSM are supportive of receiving information about PrEP on dating apps, but feel that existing advertisements require modification to better engage viewers. Dating apps may be an underutilized tool for increasing PrEP awareness and knowledge among MSM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic success and retention remain priorities on college campuses. Excessive cell phone use, test anxiety, and poor sleep habits are all associated with negative academic performance. To assess college students' perceptions of a health communication campaign designed to improve study habits and wellness behaviors during exams. Researchers used a cross-sectional research design to assess participants' (n = 264) perceptions of the study tip messages. Linear regressions were conducted to determine if the number of messages read was predictive of readiness to change. Nearly all participants agreed that the messages were appealing (84.4%), believable (89.8%), relevant (91.5%), provided useful information (91.5%) and a good reminder of how to study (87.1%). Students who reported reading more messages indicated a higher level of readiness to improve their study habits (F(1,219) = 8.89, p =.003, R2 =.04). Students found the messages useful; their intentions to study increased the more they were exposed to messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Antibiotic use remains common for the treatment of lower respiratory tract infections. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of antibiotic use on the duration and severity of acute lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI). Participants: Adult patients presenting to US primary or urgent care sites with a chief complaint of cough and symptoms consistent with LRTI. Main Measures: Collected data included demographics, comorbidities, symptoms, and 48 viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens by PCR. Severity of signs/symptoms was reported for up to 28 days using diaries and text messages. Interpolation was used where data were missing. Key Results: Of 718 patients with baseline data, 29% had an antibiotic prescribed at baseline. The most common antibiotics were amoxicillin-clavulanate, azithromycin, doxycycline, and amoxicillin in 85% of patients. Provision of an antibiotic had no effect on the duration or overall severity of cough, including in patients with viral, bacterial, and mixed infections. Receipt of an antibiotic did reduce the likelihood of a follow-up visit (14.1% vs 8.2%, aOR 0.47, 95% CI 0.26–0.84), perhaps by removing the motivation of getting an antibiotic at a follow-up visit. However, they were also more likely to receive a systemic corticosteroid (31.9% vs 4.5%, p < 0.001) and were also more likely to receive an albuterol inhaler (22.7% vs 7.6%, p < 0.001). Patients believed that receiving an antibiotic would reduce the duration of their illness by nearly 4 days. Conclusions: In this large prospective study in the US primary and urgent care setting, antibiotics had no measurable impact on the severity or duration of cough due to acute LRTI. Patients had unrealistic expectations regarding the duration of LRTI and the effect of antibiotics which should be the target of antibiotic stewardship efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction Digital cessation support appeals to pregnant smokers. In two pooled RCTs, MiQuit, a pregnancy-specific tailored text messaging intervention, did not show effectiveness for validated prolonged abstinence. However, secondary outcomes and potential moderators and mediators have not been investigated. We aimed to determine, using pooled RCT data: (1) MiQuit effectiveness on a range of smoking outcomes; (2) whether baseline tobacco dependence or quit motivation moderate effectiveness; (3) whether hypothesized mechanisms of action (quitting determination, self-efficacy, baby harm beliefs, lapse prevention strategies) mediate effectiveness. Methods Pooled data analysis from two procedurally identical RCTs comparing MiQuit (N  = 704) to usual care (N  = 705). Participants were smokers, <25 weeks pregnant, recruited from 40 English antenatal clinics. Outcomes included self-reported 7-day abstinence at 4 weeks post-baseline and late pregnancy, and prolonged abstinence. Late pregnancy outcomes were also biochemically validated. We used hierarchical regression and structural equation modeling. Results MiQuit increased self-reported, 7-day abstinence at 4 weeks (OR = 1.73 [95% CI 1.10–2.74]) and was borderline significant at late pregnancy (OR = 1.34 [0.99–1.82]) but not for prolonged or validated outcomes. Effectiveness was not moderated by baseline dependence (heaviness of smoking "low" vs. "moderate–high") or motivation (planning to quit ≤30 days [high] vs. >30 days [low]), but effects on self-reported outcomes were larger for the high motivation sub-group. MiQuit had a small effect on mean lapse prevention strategies (MiQuit 8.6 [SE 0.17], UC 8.1 [SE 0.17]; P  = .030) but not other mechanisms. Conclusions MiQuit increased short-term but not prolonged or validated abstinence and may be most effective for those motivated to quit sooner. Implications Digital cessation support appeals to pregnant smokers. MiQuit, a tailored, theory-guided text messaging program for quitting smoking in pregnancy, has not shown effectiveness for validated prolonged abstinence in two previous RCTs but its impact on other smoking outcomes and potential mechanisms of action are unknown. When pooling trial data, MiQuit increased self-reported short-term abstinence, including making a quit attempt and abstinence at 4-week follow-up, but not late pregnancy, sustained, or validated abstinence. MiQuit appeared effective at late pregnancy for participants with high quitting motivation, but its mechanisms of action remain uncertain. Additional support components are likely required to enhance effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Many instructors transitioned their courses from face‐to‐face environments to computer‐mediated learning environments (CMLEs) following the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) pandemic. However, little was known about how teleconferencing platforms and their corresponding functions affect student learning when the COVID‐19 pandemic began. Objectives: The aim of this study was to provide more clarity on the conditions through which online teleconferencing platforms influence student achievement. More specifically, this study investigated how displaying lecture‐relevant and lecture‐irrelevant messages in a chat box during a video lecture delivered via the Zoom teleconferencing platform affected student learning and note taking. Methods: Participants viewed the video lecture either with (relevant or irrelevant) or without messages appearing in the chat box of the Zoom window. Participants completed a learning test immediately following the lecture. Results and Conclusions: No difference regarding student achievement was observed between the three groups. However, results revealed that students in the relevant‐lecture messages group reported a higher extraneous cognitive load than the other groups even if they reported positive attitudes about the messages appearing on the chat box. Students in the lecture‐relevant group also recorded more notes during the lecture compared to the two other groups, but this result did not reach significance. This study extends previous research that investigated how messaging influences learning in classroom settings. Findings suggest that allowing relevant discussions is not the best strategy to promote learning in CMLEs as this information seems to compete with the other relevant information being presented during the ongoing lecture. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: In video lectures, the chat box has been identified as the function most often used to support students' learning.Responding to lecture‐relevant messages can enhance students' learning.However, it remains unknown how simply reading, but not responding to, lecture‐relevant and lecture‐irrelevant messages can affect learning and note taking. What this paper adds: In previous studies, researchers examined how messaging affects learning in a classroom setting, but not within a computer‐mediated lecture environment.The present study extends previous research that investigated how messaging influences learning in classroom settings.This study provides more clarity on the conditions through which online teleconferencing platforms affect student learning and note taking.Findings suggest that allowing relevant discussions is not the best strategy to promote learning in CMLEs as this information seems to compete with the other relevant information being presented during the ongoing lecture. Implications for practitioners: The features of video lectures are critical factors, as they influence students' learning and should therefore be taken into account when designing educational materials.Instructors should not allow students to engage in lecture‐relevant and irrelevant messaging and discussion during video lectures as it competes with the other relevant information being presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile texting has increased social engineering assaults like phishing. Because spam, or unsolicited text messages, spread phishing attempts that steal personal information. Traditional methods of spam detection, often based on statistical models or human rule-based systems, have difficulties in keeping up with the growing complexity of spamming strategies. Gathering pertinent data from social networks is a challenging task, mostly due to the limits imposed by privacy concerns and time constraints. The inefficiency and time-consuming nature of conventional frequency-based techniques to word encoding are generally recognized. Text classification has shown promising outcomes with the use of word embeddings and deep learning techniques. The proposed approach involves integrating deep learning with the Remora optimization algorithm framework (DL–ROA) to autonomously extract intricate patterns and nuanced information from text messages. The system's capacity to adapt to new spamming strategies enhances the DL–ROA. The proposed technique improves the accuracy of detection while reducing the inefficiency and time required to create contextual word vectors based on word frequency. Spam detection is achieved by using a hybrid deep model that combines long short-term memory (LSTM) and deep convolutional neural networks (DCNN) architectures. Empirical data demonstrate that the DL–ROA technique surpasses existing deep learning models in terms of accuracy, f1-score, and recall. In addition, the DL–ROA achieved an unprecedented accuracy rate of 98.25%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This multicentre, assessor‐blinded, two‐arm cluster randomized trial evaluated the clinical and cost‐effectiveness of a behaviour change intervention promoting toothbrushing for preventing dental caries in UK secondary schools. Methods: Pupils aged 11–13 years with their own mobile telephone attending secondary schools with above average free school meals eligibility were randomized (at year‐group level) to receive a lesson and twice‐daily text messages or to usual care. Year‐groups (n = 84) from 42 schools including 4680 pupils (intervention, n = 2262; control, n = 2418) were randomized. Results: In 2383 participants with valid data at baseline and 2.5 years, the primary outcome of presence of at least one treated or untreated carious lesion (D4‐6 MFT [Decayed, Missing and Filled Teeth] in permanent teeth using International Caries Detection and Assessment System) was 44.6% in the intervention group and 43.0% in control (odds ratio [OR] 1.04, 95% CI 0.85–1.26, p =.72). There were no statistically significant differences in secondary outcomes of presence of at least one treated or untreated carious lesion (D1‐6 MFT), number of D4‐6 MFT and D1‐6 MFT, plaque and bleeding scores or health‐related‐ (Child Health Utility 9D) or oral health‐related‐ quality of life (CARIES‐QC). However, twice‐daily toothbrushing, reported by 77.6% of pupils at baseline, increased at 6 months (intervention, 86.9%; control, 83.0%; OR 1.30, 95% CI 1.03–1.63, p =.03), but returned to no difference at 2.5 years (intervention, 81.0%; control, 79.9%; OR 1.05, 95% CI 0.84–1.30, p =.69). Estimated incremental costs and quality‐adjusted life‐years (QALYs) of the intervention, relative to control, were £1.02 (95% CI −1.29 to 3.23) and −0.003 (95% CI −0.009 to 0.002), respectively, with a 7% chance of being cost‐effective (£20 000/QALY gained threshold). Conclusion: There was no evidence of statistically significant difference for caries prevalence at 2.5‐years. The intervention's positive 6‐month toothbrushing behaviour change did not translate into caries reduction. (ISRCTN 12139369). COVID‐19 pandemic adversly affected follow‐up. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) reduces the quality of life of young women and negatively affects their mental health and productivity. Regular physical activity and lifestyle changes are effective in alleviating and eliminating PMS symptoms. Accordingly, this randomized controlled study aims to investigate the effect of pilates and a WhatsApp-based support program on reducing PMS symptoms. A support program including pilates exercises and sending text messages was applied for 8 weeks to the students in the intervention group, and no attempt was made to the students in the control group. In this study, it was found that a support program including pilates exercise and Whatsapp text messages significantly reduced PMS symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latinas face an increased risk for chronic diseases associated with insufficient physical activity (PA). The researchers previously showed that a website-based intervention could increase PA among insufficiently active Latinas, yet rates of meeting national PA guidelines were low. The original intervention was enhanced by adding additional features, content, and points of contact, including via text messaging. This study tests the efficacy of the enhanced intervention compared with the original, aimed at maximizing and sustaining PA gains across 24 months. It also examines if increases in PA differed by baseline PA. The researchers conducted a superiority randomized controlled trial (data collected 2018–2022, analyzed 2023). Participants were 195 Spanish-speaking Latinas ages 18–65 in the Providence, RI area. The original intervention is an empirically supported Spanish-language, individually-tailored, website-delivered PA intervention. The enhanced intervention includes text messaging and additional data-driven content and interactive features. Total weekly minutes of moderate to vigorous PA (MVPA) was measured via accelerometry and self-report at 6, 12, 18, and 24 months. Participants in both groups increased their MVPA over 24 months. There were no significant between-group differences at 6 or 12 months; at 18 months the enhanced intervention group had higher levels of self-reported (mean (sd): 90.35 (43.55) vs 70.18 [9.99]) and accelerometer-measured (66.21 [18.26] vs 60.27 [16.00]) MVPA compared to the original intervention group. They also had higher levels of self-reported (111.17 [23.35] vs 81.44 [1.82]) and accelerometer-measured (63.76 [15.12] vs 54.86 [14.59]) MVPA at 24 months. Baseline PA moderated the intervention effect. This study demonstrates the potential to enhance the efficacy of website-based PA interventions by utilizing text messaging, and adding more interactive features, content, and phone support. These enhancements may be particularly beneficial in supporting long-term PA maintenance. This study is registered at www.clinicaltrial.gov (NCT03491592). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the goal of achieving herd immunity for residents of an ethnically diverse metropolitan area in the Mid-Atlantic region, a tiered public health intervention was formulated to deploy available COVID-19 vaccines to residents. The three key functions for the intervention program were Messaging & Monitoring, Deployment & Directing , and Acquisition & Availability , all of which were systematically applied to the process of limiting the novel coronavirus' spread and immunizing residents. This evaluation study was conducted to provide timely and actionable data for municipal leaders concerning the effectiveness of messaging for community outreach. Findings from this mixed-methods research revealed differences among population subgroups relative to how COVID-19 information was obtained. Particularly salient were the statistical tests performed on index scores that were generated from a cross-sectional altitude survey. Differences were found in perceptions of ethnic subgroups about the effectiveness of public service memes for promoting COVID-19 safety and vaccinations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Diabetes group visits (GVs) have not been rigorously evaluated in community health centers. Methods. This cluster randomized controlled study recruited adults with diabetes mellitus with glycosylated hemoglobin, A1C greater than or equal to eight percent: 75 intervention and 120 usual care. Group visit patients completed a six-month program. Primary outcome was A1C change from baseline to 12 months. Results. Participants improved their A1C by 0.38%–0.40% with no difference across arms (p=.63). Group visit patients improved their diabetes social support, knowledge, and distress and were more likely to receive guideline-based care compared with control. Group visit patients with anxiety or depression were more likely to have a visit with behavioral health compared with usual care (p=.02). Conclusions. Community health center patients with diabetes had improvements in glucose control across arms. Group visits improved the receipt of mental health care and guideline-based care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In Sub-Saharan Africa, efficacy trials of brief interventions to reduce unhealthy drinking among persons living with HIV (PLWH) have yielded mixed results. A better understanding of the perceptions of drinking, especially by PLWH, and how drinking is talked about at HIV treatment clinics in this setting, may guide more optimal designs for future trials. We conducted a qualitative study at an HIV treatment clinic in South Western Uganda to better understand perceptions of drinking, how drinking is talked about, and perceptions of interventions, especially a protocolled screening and brief intervention (SBI) for unhealthy drinking among PLWH. We conducted in-depth interviews with 17 PLWH who engaged in unhealthy drinking and 6 health workers, and one focus group discussion with 3 community advisory-board members. We performed manual preliminary data analysis and computer-assisted detailed thematic analysis to identify emergent themes. Four themes emerged: perceptions of alcohol use in the general population; perceptions of alcohol use in PLWH; interaction between PLWH and health workers about alcohol use; perceptions of interventions for unhealthy drinking including SBI. Unhealthy drinking was seen as a problem in the general population and among those with HIV, where it was negatively perceived. Communication about drinking was done by counselors, but doctors participated in screening for unhealthy alcohol use. Messages about drinking covered reduction and abstinence. Participants expressed positive attitudes towards SBI and preference for person-delivered SBI over technological alternatives. A protocolled SBI for unhealthy alcohol use among PLWH would be well-received but successful implementation may depend on mode of delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For people at risk of HIV infection, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) can reduce the risk of infection in anticipation of exposure to HIV. The effectiveness of PrEP relies upon a user's adherence to their PrEP regimen. We sought to assess the effect of PrEP adherence interventions compared to usual care or another intervention for people at risk of HIV. We searched electronic databases from 2010 onwards for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) involving persons at risk of HIV randomized to an adherence promoting intervention vs usual care or another intervention. We used network meta-analyses to compare PrEP adherence for all participant populations. Certainty of evidence was assessed using Confidence in Network Meta-Analysis (CINeMA). 21 trials (N = 4917) were included in qualitative analysis (19 in network meta-analyses (N = 4101)). HIV self-testing interventions with adherence feedback elements improved adherence compared to usual care (risk ratio (RR): 1.83, 95%CI 1.19, 2.82). In contrast, HIV self-testing alone was inferior to HIV self-testing with adherence feedback (RR: 0.58, 95%CI 0.37–0.92). Reminders alone also were inferior to HIV self-testing with adherence feedback on adherence (RR: 0.53, 95%CI 0.34–0.84) and had similar effects on adherence as usual care (RR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.86–1.11). Interventions with only one component were inferior for adherence than those with two components (RR: 0.74, 95%CI 0.62–0.88) and those with three components (RR: 0.78, 95%CI 0.65–0.93). The certainty of evidence was moderate for HIV self-testing plus adherence feedback and interventions with two or three components. When designing future PrEP adherence interventions, we recommend strategies with more than one but no more than three components. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile mammography units (MMUs) can enhance access to breast cancer screening by providing convenient, cost-effective service, particularly for uninsured and underinsured women. However, prior studies indicate that acceptability concerns about quality and privacy, among other issues, may prevent women from utilizing MMUs. The current study employs a within-participant experimental design exposing participants to messages about different MMU characteristics to determine which characteristics are most effective in persuading them to use an MMU. The study also examined how messaging interacts with participants' ethnic identity to influence outcomes. Data were collected from a diverse sample of uninsured and underinsured women as part of a formative study to promote the utilization of a mobile mammography facility in Central Texas. Results of mixed-effect linear models show that messages about equity, appointment convenience, privacy and comfort, and quality of equipment and staff were rated as more persuasive than messages about convenience of location and language accessibility. However, Hispanic women rated language accessibility higher than other participants did. The results can guide MMU organizers and promotion managers as they determine the best approach to promote mobile mammography services in different communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The social media data provides great source of information about global and local events, with millions of users. More precisely, the fact that brief messages are practical and are highly popular. Many recent studies have been motivated to estimate the location of the events identified by tracking posts in social media text messages. It might be difficult to extract location data and estimate the location of an event while maintaining a sufficient level of situation awareness, particularly in disaster situations like fires or traffic accidents. In this presented work we proposed an approach to identify geo-references in the text messages. We used bi-directional long short term memory (LSTM) neural networks to extract location information in the text messages. The results show that applying Bi-LSTM on dataset gives high level accuracy after fine-tuning (up to 10 epochs). The testing results show that accuracy achieved is 0.98 and 0.076 loss value. This proves that the proposed methodology is better than the previous conditional random field (CRF)-based approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Friendship is critical for individuals' well-being, but recent efforts to characterize Americans' friendship have suggested that these relationships are in peril. The present study is a report on the methods and results of three surveys from the American Friendship Project (AFP). The goal of the AFP is to be the most accurate and most complete account of American friendship as well as its health and change over time. The AFP reports on five critical facets of social health as it relates to friendship: 1) the structural factors of friendship (e.g., who are they, how many); 2) friendship quality (e.g., satisfaction, closeness); 3) social support from friends; 4) the quantity of online and offline communication; and 5) well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, loneliness, connection). Data was collected from two national samples of American adults in 2022 and 2023 and from a large sample of college students across three universities in 2022. The key finding from this investigation is, compared to the discouraging results of other recent surveys, Americans reported having more friends and fewer were friendless. AFP results also suggest that face-to-face (FtF) meetings among friends are quite common, as are telephone calls and text messaging. College student and adult samples reported very similar attitudes and experiences with friendship overall, but students were more likely to meet friends at school and to keep them for a shorter length of time. Another key finding is Americans long for greater closeness with friends; though over 75% were satisfied with the number of friends they had, over 40% felt they were not as close to their friends as they would like. Overall, the AFP is a rich source of data that can be used to answer a multitude of questions about friendship and its connection to well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Breastfeeding self-efficacy has been identified as an important influence on breastfeeding outcomes. Among new parent couples, partners are uniquely positioned to be sources of support for developing breastfeeding self-efficacy, yet few breastfeeding programs have attempted to involve partners directly. The purpose of this study was to test the impact of a novel program, Happy, Healthy, Loved, on breastfeeding self-efficacy and maternal mood through emphasizing partner support and actively addressing postpartum-specific stress management in a tailored text message delivery program. Methods: A randomized trial was conducted in which primiparous mother-partner dyads intending to exclusively breastfeed were recruited at midwestern hospitals 2–3 days after delivery. The clinical trial was pre-registered at clinicaltrials.gov (#NCT04578925, registration date 7/24/2020). Couples were randomized to receive intervention or an attentional control. Couples randomized to the intervention group then completed a brief interactive educational tablet program together (Happy, Healthy, Loved), followed by 6 weeks of tailored text messages providing reminders, coping strategies, and motivational milestones to improve breastfeeding self-efficacy. Participants in the control group received usual care followed by 6 weeks of attentional control text messages about infant development. Surveys were delivered at baseline, 6 weeks, and 6 months postpartum to both mother and partner to assess breastfeeding self-efficacy, mood, and social support (n = 62 couples). Results: Outcomes of ANCOVA with baseline self-efficacy as a covariate showed a significant effect of intervention on 6 months breastfeeding self-efficacy when compared to control group. No other significant differences were found at 6 weeks or 6 months postpartum in breastfeeding self-efficacy, depressive or anxious symptoms. Conclusions: Results of the present investigation suggest that a text-based dyad intervention improved breastfeeding self-efficacy at 6 months, but not 6 weeks, postpartum, indicating that text-based mother-partner interventions are a promising direction to continue exploring in postpartum health research. Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov #NCT04578925. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through Tanzania's National Sanitation Campaign, we study the effectiveness of two common elements of behavior change campaigns: endorsements from celebrities and testimonials. Using four experiments in Tanzania in early 2021 as part of the national campaign, we find that including endorsements and testimonials in text messages sent to individuals significantly increases self-reported hygiene behavior. These results mask important heterogeneity based on the source of endorsement or framing of the testimonial and provide insights into cost-effective approaches for changing behavior at scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research seeks to find out the presence of one of the components of literary work in a literary genre that may not be as effective as it appears in the minds of the interlocutors. The research attempts to find the parties of the dialogue, its implicit, and the role it played in the text, relying on the theory of the implicit in exploring the depths of the text and understanding the message of the dialogue implicit in it. The research concludes that dialogue in the text contributes to gaining character and events effectiveness by measuring their interactions with literature, thought, society, and books. It helps to disable some of the common meanings highlighting the active subjects who set up the events in the text and bringing out the dialogue with an implicit intention to move the interlocutor’s understanding to the stage of integration and assimilation from the narrow family to the wider society, from an internal biological conflict to a historical and social struggle which solutions have been brought into question, whether it has ended or is still there. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Mobile phone-based messaging for maternal education has shown promising outcomes in promoting maternal and child healthcare in low- and middle-income countries, where there is poor utilization of healthcare services. However, the success of a mobile phone messaging-based intervention depends on identifying and addressing the underlying factors that determine its utilization before implementation. Objective: To assess pregnant mothers' intention to use a mobile phone-based messaging intervention to improve maternal and newborn health in Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Method: This study employed a cross-sectional study design among randomly selected pregnant mothers residing in six primary health care units that were selected from three districts of Jimma Zone, Ethiopia. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered structured questionnaire. Descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages, mean, and standard deviation were calculated and presented using tables. Multivariable linear regression analysis was used to identify predictors of intention. Standardized regression coefficients were used to understand the effect of the independent variables and outcome variable. A 95% confidence interval and a p-value of < 0.05 were considered significant. Result: Two hundred seventy-nine pregnant mothers participated in this study, resulting in a 98.9% response rate. Almost all (98.9%) respondents preferred the Afan Oromo language, 41.9% of respondents preferred the afternoon and 48.4% preferred receiving health information as text messages once daily. Having family members who can share SMS information (β = 0.098, 95% CI: (0.279—1.867), perceived usefulness (β = 0.283, 95% CI: (0.143—0.341), perceived easiness (β = 0.209, 95% CI: (0.054—0.392), perceived acceptability (β = 0.158, 95% CI: (0.007—0.178) and perceived feasibility (β = 0.186, 95% CI: (0.057—0.284) were found to have a positive significant association with the intention to use mobile phone-based messaging for maternal and newborn health. Conclusion: The majority of respondents preferred receiving mobile phone-based messaging on MNH in the Afan Oromo language, during the afternoon, and once daily. Having family members who share text message information, perceived usefulness, perceived easiness, perceived acceptability, and feasibility were significantly associated with intention. These findings highlight the importance of considering user preferences and determinants of intention when designing mobile phone-based messaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated changes in European healthcare systems, with a significant proportion of COVID-19 cases being managed on an outpatient basis in primary healthcare (PHC). To alleviate the burden on healthcare facilities, many European countries developed contact-tracing apps and symptom checkers to identify potential cases. As the pandemic evolved, the European Union introduced the Digital COVID-19 Certificate for travel, which relies on vaccination, recent recovery, or negative test results. However, the integration between these apps and PHC has not been thoroughly explored in Europe. Objective: To describe if governmental COVID-19 apps allowed COVID-19 patients to connect with PHC through their apps in Europe and to examine how the Digital COVID-19 Certificate was obtained. Methodology: Design and setting: Retrospective descriptive study in PHC in 30 European countries. An ad hoc, semi-structured questionnaire was developed to collect country-specific data on primary healthcare activity during the COVID-19 pandemic and the use of information technology tools to support medical care from 15 March 2020 to 31 August 2021. Key informants belong to the WONCA Europe network (World Organization of Family Doctors). The data were collected from relevant and reliable official sources, such as governmental websites and guidelines. Main outcome measures: Patient's first contact with health system, governmental COVID-19 app (name and function), Digital COVID-19 Certification, COVID-19 app connection with PHC. Results: Primary care was the first point of care for suspected COVID-19 patients in 28 countries, and 24 countries developed apps to complement classical medical care. The most frequently developed app was for tracing COVID-19 cases (24 countries), followed by the Digital COVID-19 Certificate app (17 countries). Bulgaria, Italy, Serbia, North Macedonia, and Romania had interoperability between PHC and COVID-19 apps, and Poland and Romania's apps considered social needs. Conclusions: COVID-19 apps were widely created during the first pandemic year. Contact tracing was the most frequent function found in the registered apps. Connection with PHC was scarcely developed. In future pandemics, connections between health system levels should be guaranteed to develop and implement effective strategies for managing diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ObjectiveMethodsResultsConclusions\nKEY POINTSHigh melanoma rates in Queensland, Australia suggest that sun protection campaign message content may require revision. The aim of this experimental study was to explore young Queensland adults’ sun-related exposure and knowledge level, before investigating the effectiveness of five health text messages at improving sun protection intentions.Ninety-five young adults aged 17 to 24 years participated in the study. Most content was modelled on Protection Motivation Theory. The texts allowed for the comparison of fear appeals with and without efficacy messages, health-versus appearance-based messages, and the exploration of understudied, appearance-based message content alluding to melanoma surgery scarring.Proportionally, significantly more females (60.34%) sunbathed compared to males [26.47%, χ2 (1, n = 92) = 8.55, p = .003, phi = -.33], and females (M = 16.03) had significantly greater knowledge levels than males [M = 12.81, t(89), −.3.99, p < .001, η2 = .01]. There was no difference between health and appearance-based messages on participants’ sun protection intentions as assessed by the Protection Motivation Theory χ2 (5, n = 94) = 2.97, p = .704.Future research should contribute to the debates surrounding fear appeals and health-versus appearance-based messages with different communication modalities. Health promotion campaigns on sun protection should target message content to audiences.What this topic adds: Text messages may not be robust enough to distinguish between the effects of appearance and health-based information in determining sun-protective behaviours.Knowledge about melanoma does not deter young females from sunbathing.More robust health communication approaches than health text messages are required for testing the Protection Motivation Theory in predicting sun protective behaviours in samples of young adults with high health literacy.Text messages may not be robust enough to distinguish between the effects of appearance and health-based information in determining sun-protective behaviours.Knowledge about melanoma does not deter young females from sunbathing.More robust health communication approaches than health text messages are required for testing the Protection Motivation Theory in predicting sun protective behaviours in samples of young adults with high health literacy.What is already known about this topic: Queensland Australia is one of the most melanoma susceptible regions of the world.Many young Australian adults are not practicing sun safety.Appearance-based approaches are bett er at persuading younger people to protect against the sun than health-based ones.Queensland Australia is one of the most melanoma susceptible regions of the world.Many young Australian adults are not practicing sun safety.Appearance-based approaches are bett er at persuading younger people to protect against the sun than health-based ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a world where digital interactions have become the norm, chatbots are evolving to not only assist with tasks but also to alleviate feelings of social exclusion. This study investigates how anthropomorphic chatbots influence customer engagement and emotional responses following social exclusion, and further impact their commercial decisions. Through a between-subject experiment involving 609 participants, we explored the effects of anthropomorphic (vs. non-anthropomorphic) chatbots across three social exclusion conditions (ignored, rejected, and control). Our findings reveal that anthropomorphic chatbots significantly enhance purchase intention, relational investment, and organizational trust, mediated by increased senses of belonging and control and enhanced parasocial interactions. This research enriches the marketing literature by applying the need-threat model and illuminating the psychological mechanisms underlying customer responses. The practical implications for marketing and public relations professionals include strategies for optimizing brand-consumer interactions through the strategic use of anthropomorphic chatbots. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]