Healthy Teens TXT ME: Information Technology to Change Teen Health Risk Behaviors
Project Final Report (PDF, 243.68 KB) Disclaimer
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Project Details -
Completed
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Grant NumberR21 HS018214
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AHRQ Funded Amount$299,095
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Principal Investigator(s)
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Organization
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LocationHanoverNew Hampshire
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Project Dates09/30/2009 - 03/31/2012
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Technology
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Care Setting
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Medical Condition
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Population
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Type of Care
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Health Care Theme
This project utilized information technology (IT) to develop an integrated screening, counseling, and post-visit support system to increase physical activity among adolescents. Dr. Olson and her research team programmed and tested the Healthy Teens personal digital assistant (PDA) screening program software that supports effective clinician counseling about exercise uptake. The technology, called Healthy Teens TXT ME, included tailored cell phone text messaging to teenagers interested in behavior change and a social Web site for project participants to share experiences and support their change efforts. In addition, the software was programmed to produce a summary report that transfers data into patient electronic medical records for future reference. The system included tailored cell phone text messaging to teenagers who indicated that they were interested in behavior change, and a social network for participants to share experiences and support their change efforts.
The aims of the project were to:
- Enhance effective counseling for increased exercise and tobacco cessation in the Healthy Teens PDA-based health risk screening tool through appropriate clinician prompts, drawing from evidence-based literature, and existing public health and patient counseling programs.
- Develop the format, message delivery algorithm, and technological processes linking PDA-based teen health screening data from the primary care visit to tailored followup behavior change messages delivered as cell phone text.
- Develop the prototype of an Internet social network site where adolescents are linked to other project participants who are trying to change a specific health behavior (increasing exercises or tobacco cessation) and where they can access other Web-based resources.
- Conduct a feasibility trial of the exercise component of the TXT ME model to evaluate the use of PDA technology to screen and prompt clinicians, and cell phone technology to provide post-visit reinforcement in changing teen exercise behavior.
The results of the study indicate that clinician counseling is an important catalyst for teens to exercise more and try new exercise. The text messaging intervention was effective at increasing exercise throughout the study. The text messages combined with counseling from providers resulted in two interventions. Utilizing heath IT to enhance screening and counseling by clinicians is a promising integrated approach to enhance adolescent exercise habits.
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