R U OK 2 TXT 4 RESEARCH?--feasibility of text message communication in primary care research.
BACKGROUND
Young people have led the recent rise in prevalence of text message usage, which is increasingly used in clinical settings.


OBJECTIVE
To assess the feasibility and acceptability of text message communication as a research tool in clinical research.


METHODS
One hundred and ten consecutive young patients aged 16-24 years were recruited in four general practices (one inner urban, one outer urban, one rural and one university practice) in Victoria and interviewed before the consultation. If the patients had a mobile phone, they were asked to provide their mobile phone number so that following the medical consultation they could receive a single question, via text message, about their satisfaction with the consultation.


RESULTS
Ninety-one percent of patients participated: 87 of 96 (91%) had a mobile phone and 85 of 87 agreed to provide their phone number for the purpose of research. There was no influence of practice sociodemographic characteristics.


CONCLUSIONS
Text messaging is a feasible and acceptable method of communication for research purposes with young people attending primary care.
Haller
Dagmar
D
Centre for Adolescent Health, Murdoch Children's Research Institute, Melbourne, Victoria. dagmar.haller@mcri.edu.au
Sanci
Lena
L
Sawyer
Susan
S
Coffey
Carolyn
C
Patton
George
G
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D012106:Research; D014739:Victoria