Towards an Effective Patient Health Engagement System Using Cloud-Based Text Messaging Technology

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Chih-Wen Cheng, Georgia Institute of Technology; Robert Clark Brown, Emory University; Janani Venugopalan, Georgia Institute of Technology; May D. Wang, Georgia Institute of Technology
• Language: English
• Date: 2020-01-01
• Publisher: IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2013 IEEE.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): http://dx.doi.org/10.1109/JTEHM.2018.2868358
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: IEEE JOURNAL OF TRANSLATIONAL ENGINEERING IN HEALTH AND MEDICINE-JTEHM
• Volume: 8
• Start Page: 2700107
• End Page: 2700107
• Keywords: SCALE; CHILDREN; SYMPTOMS; Engineering, Biomedical; text messaging; ADOLESCENTS; self-reported outcomes; Schedules; Cloud computing; Google; Diseases; SUPPORT; Technology; Pain; SICKLE-CELL-DISEASE; sickle cell disease; patient engagement; Engineering; Security; Electronic messaging; Science & Technology; WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY; ELECTRONIC PAIN DIARY; MANAGEMENT; ADHERENCE
• Research Categories: Education, Technology; Engineering, Biomedical; Health Sciences, Medicine and Surgery

Abstract

Patient and health provider interaction via text messaging (TM) has become an accepted form of communication, often favored by adolescents and young adults. While integration of TM in disease management has aided health interventions and behavior modifications, broader adoption is hindered by expense, fixed reporting schedules, and monotonic communication. A low-cost, flexible TM reporting system (REMOTES) was developed using inexpensive cloud-based services with features of two-way communication, personalized reporting scheduling, and scalable and secured data storage. REMOTES is a template-based reporting tool adaptable to a wide-range of complexity in response formats. In a pilot study, 27 adolescents with sickle cell disease participated to assess feasibility of REMOTES in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Subject compliance with at least one daily self-report pain query was 94.9% (112/118) during inpatient and 91.1% (327/359) during outpatient, with an overall accuracy of 99.2% (970/978). With use of a more complex 8-item questionnaire, 30% (7/21) inpatient and 66.6% (36/54) outpatient responses were reported with 98.1% (51/52) reporting accuracy. All participants expressed high pre-trial expectation (88%) and post-trial satisfaction (89%). The study suggests that cloud-based text messaging is feasible and an easy-of-use solution for low-cost and personalized patient engagement.