title: Improving patient health engagement with mobile texting: A pilot study in the head and neck postoperative setting.
abstract: Cell phone ownership is nearly universal. Messaging is one of its most widely used features. Texting-based interventions may improve patient engagement in the postoperative setting, but remain understudied.
  
  
  
  Patients were recruited before discharge from the hospital and received automated daily texts for 1 week providing information about expected recovery. Patients were encouraged to text questions to providers, which were triaged for intervention. Web-based surveys solicited patient feedback about the platform.
  
  
  
  Thirty-two patients were approached, and 23 patients (72%) were enrolled in the study. All study patients texted their providers, although frequency (median, 7 texts; range, 2-44 texts) varied. Unmarried patients and those facing surgical complications used the platform more frequently. Mean patient satisfaction with the platform was high (mean, 3.8 on a 4-point Likert scale).
  
  
  
  Text messaging seems feasible in the acute postoperative setting and potentially improves engagement of patients with head and neck cancer. Further study is warranted to confirm scalability and impact. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 988-995, 2017.
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Alan
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sosa
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Nathan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Heineman
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Kai
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinstein
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: Michelle Y
authors.initials: MY
authors.lastname: Martin
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, Texas.
authors.forename: Baran
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sumer
authors.affiliation: Department of Preventive Medicine, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center, Memphis, Tennessee.|Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center-West Cancer Center, Memphis, Tennessee.
authors.forename: David L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D040421:Cell Phone; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011446:Prospective Studies; D060145:Text Messaging
keywords: health informatics; mobile health (mHealth); patient engagement; text messaging