MEMOTEXT Literature Summary Update for 2023

MEMOTEXT co-created solutions featured in 3 peer-reviewed publications in 2023!

At MEMOTEXT we pride ourselves in co-creating and validating digital patient engagement communications and digital therapeutics (DTx) with our partners. 2023 has been a great year for us and our partners in Canada and the US with the publication of 3 research papers featuring MEMOTEXT’s solutions in peer-reviewed journals.

SmartMom, Canada’s first evidence-based prenatal education program delivered by SMS text messaging and endorsed by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynecologists of Canada, was the subject of Murray et al.’s publication ‘Expectant Parents’ Preferences for Teaching by Texting: Development and Usability Study of SmartMom’ in the April 2023 issue of JIMR (Murray et al., 2023).The program, designed by a consortium of University of British Columbia–affiliated academic clinicians and perinatal program leaders from British Columbia health authorities has enrolled over 13,000 people to date. This was a qualitative focus group study conducted as part of a development and usability study of the program. Study participants reported that “having reliable information is the most important thing” and found that SmartMom SMS text messages met their needs for prenatal education and were more convenient than using apps. They viewed the program as being evidence-based, providing comprehensive content without searching, and permitting tailoring to individual needs through opt-in message streams.

The second publication reported results of a study conducted at the University of California, San Diego Health Medical Center (UCSDH) to determine if an SMS text message–based assessment program can efficiently track physician mental health (Goldhaber et al., 2023). MEMOTEXT collaborated with UCSDH to create the SMS messaging platform. The platform was used to randomise the deployment of survey questions and provide processed data (graphs of aggregated participant scores) for analysis on a weekly basis. Responses demonstrated that SMS text message–based mental health assessments are potentially useful for recording physician-trainee mental health levels in real time with minimal burden. The findings of this pilot study show promise and encourage future research utilizing this tool on a larger scale. The ultimate goal of this research would be to inform the development of institution-wide intervention efforts to protect physicians from occupational stress and prevent physician burnout at a systematic level.

The third research paper describes a multisite randomised controlled superiority trial that will be conducted at SickKids Research Institute and The Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre among other study sites in Ontario and Quebec (Sanmugalingham et al., 2023). This randomised controlled superiority trial will evaluate a text-message based intervention, Keeping in Touch (KiT), to support youth as the transition to adult type 1 care. The 12-month transition support program will be hosted on secure platform developed by MEMOTEXT. By collaborating with MEMOTEXT the researchers and participants are assured that user engagement data will be collected and stored in accordance with all applicable laws and PIPEDA and HIPAA. The study’s findings will inform the field of digital health by testing an intervention co-designed with people living with T1D and T1D providers and delivered entirely by text messages.

We celebrate our partners’ success in getting their important work published.

At MEMOTEXT we remain steadfast in our commitment to co-creating adaptive and evidence-based digital therapeutics (DTx) that have the potential to improve patients lives. Get in touch with us to learn how we can collaborate to co-design, develop and validate your digital patient engagement solutions.

Samuel Njau

References

Goldhaber, N. H., Chea, A., Hekler, E. B., Zhou, W., & Fergerson, B. (2023). Evaluating the

mental health of Physician-Trainees using an SMS Text Message-Based Assessment Tool: Longitudinal Pilot study. JMIR Formative Research, 7, e45102. https://doi.org/10.2196/45102

Murray, J. B., Sharp, A., Munro, S., & Janssen, P. A. (2023). Expectant parents’ preferences for teaching by texting: a development and usability study of SmartMom (Preprint). JMIR Formative Research,7, e44661. https://doi.org/10.2196/44661

Sanmugalingham, G., Mok, E., Cafazzo, J. A., Desveaux, L., Brazeau, A., Booth, G. L., Greenberg, M., Kichler, J. C., Rac, V. E., Austin, P. C., Goldbloom, E., Henderson, M., Landry, A., Zenlea, I., Taylor, M., Nakhla, M., & Shulman, R. (2023). Text message-based intervention, Keeping in Touch (KiT), to support youth as they transition to adult type 1 diabetes care: a protocol for a multisite randomised controlled superiority trial. BMJ Open, 13(5), e071396. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-071396