title: Content of text messaging immunization reminders: what low-income parents want to know.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this project was to gather preliminary data on preferred content for text reminders sent to low-income parents.
  
  
  METHODS
  A brief, IRB-approved survey was administered to 200 consecutive English-speaking parents of children under 6 years old at a Pediatric Residency clinic. Because text messages can hold only limited content, parents were given three example texts ranging from very basic to very specific information and asked to select the information they would wish to receive.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 190 parents (95%) who responded, 22.1% (42) were Hispanic and 76.3% (145) were non-Hispanic. Over 80% (153) received Medicaid. Of the 79.5% (151) of respondents interested in receiving text messages who responded to the question regarding content, nearly 50% (74) preferred Option 2, with the remaining respondents divided between Option 1 (43) and Option 3 (35). Results differed significantly between Hispanic and non-Hispanic respondents (χ(2)(2)=6.36, p=0.042).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The majority of parents preferred a message containing the child's name, specific immunization information and physician information. However, Hispanic respondents were significantly more likely to endorse an option that included additional information.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Text messaging may be an optimal vehicle for provider-patient communication, however cultural differences should be considered when developing messages.
authors.affiliation: Office of Research and Department of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita, Wichita, KS 67214, USA. cschmidt3@kumc.edu
authors.forename: Carolyn R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Ahlers-Schmidt
authors.forename: Traci
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hart
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Chesser
authors.forename: Angelia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Paschal
authors.forename: Tuan
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Nguyen
authors.forename: Robert R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Wittler
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D007114:Immunization; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010290:Parents; D057240:Patient Preference; D011203:Poverty; D017010:Reminder Systems; D060145:Text Messaging; D014481:United States