Motivational text messages sent to smokers' mobile phones can double their chances of giving up tobacco, a study has found.
The "txt2stop" trial tested the effects of inspirational text messages designed to encourage quitting on almost 3,000 smokers. Participants were twice as likely to banish their habit as another group sent texts unrelated to smoking.
The text messages, designed by experts with the help of smokers, provided encouragement up to "quit day", advice on keeping off weight while quitting, and help with craving. One example read: "This is it! - QUIT DAY, throw away all your fags. TODAY is the start of being QUIT forever, you can do it!"
Another, focusing on craving, read: "Cravings last less than five minutes on average. To help distract yourself, try sipping a drink slowly until the craving is over."
The randomly selected smokers in the programme received five text messages a day for five weeks, followed by three per week for the next six months. People were able to receive instant messages at times of need by texting the word "crave" or "lapse".
A similar sized "control" group of smokers were sent texts simply thanking them for their participation, requesting confirmation of contact details, or mentioning a range of topics not connected to smoking.
Saliva tests for a tobacco break-down chemical called cotinine were used to verify that smokers really had quit. They confirmed how many had managed to stop smoking for six months. The results, published in The Lancet medical journal, showed a 10.7% success rate for those receiving the motivational texts compared with 4.9% for members of the control group.
Dr Caroline Free, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who led the Medical Research Council-funded trial, said: "Text messages are a very convenient way for smokers to receive support to quit. People described txt2stop as being like having a 'friend' encouraging them or an 'angel on their shoulder'. It helped people resist the temptation to smoke."
Prof Max Parmar, director of the Medical Research Council clinical trials unit, said: "Smoking kills more than five million people each year, and two out of every three smokers have said at some point that they would like to give up. By carrying out a large scale trial like this to see whether text messages can help people truly free themselves of their addiction, this research has shown that texting could be a powerful tool to help people to walk away from cigarettes for good.
"The MRC has been tackling the problem of smoking for over half a century, and we're committed to funding research that has the potential to change so many people's lives."
Glyn McIntosh, from the smoking cessation group Quit, which helped develop the text messages and recruit volunteers for the study, says: "We are delighted with the results and hope that text motivation will now become a standard part of the quitting process."
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2011/jun/30/motivational-text-messages-help-smokers-quit?INTCMP=ILCNETTXT3487 by John von Radowitz on 30th June 2011.
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Friday, 21 October 2011
UK - London trust uses SMS to cut missed appointments by a quarter
Chelsea and Westminster hospital foundation trust has reduced its did not attend (DNA) rate by 26% since the introduction of a SMS text message reminder system, with falls in almost all of its outpatient clinics.
The number of DNAs fell from 14% to 10.4% between April 2010 and now across the outpatient areas where the system was implemented. The trust says this is equivalent to 720 fewer missed appointments each month.
Significant decreases were seen in physiotherapy, where the DNA rate nearly halved from 12.4% to 6.8%, and pain, which went down from 19.0% to 12.1%.
However, the trust actually saw small rises in DNA rates in a few areas. The non attendance rate in the diabetes clinic went up from 13.2% to 13.6%, while the eyes unit saw the rate rise from 11.9% to 13.1%.
Therese Davis, chief nurse and director of patient experience and flow at the trust, said: "Most people now expect to be reminded about appointments they have in other areas of life, so there's no reason that their healthcare should be any different.
"Our HIV and sexual health services have been using a similar reminder service for several years, so we see this latest initiative as an extension to a service that we already offer our patients."
The system sends automatic text messages through the nationally provided NHSnet service to patients seven days before their outpatient appointment. The trust sends 25,000 reminders each month.
Patients receive an automated phone call if they do not have mobile phones. They can request to opt out of the service if they don't wish to receive a reminder.
The trust's findings come after international academic research on a range of studies found that reminding patients by either text message or phone can cut those failing to turn up for appointments by 34%.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2011/sep/29/chelsea-westminster-sms-missed-appointments-london by Ben Whitelaw on 29th September 2011.
The number of DNAs fell from 14% to 10.4% between April 2010 and now across the outpatient areas where the system was implemented. The trust says this is equivalent to 720 fewer missed appointments each month.
Significant decreases were seen in physiotherapy, where the DNA rate nearly halved from 12.4% to 6.8%, and pain, which went down from 19.0% to 12.1%.
However, the trust actually saw small rises in DNA rates in a few areas. The non attendance rate in the diabetes clinic went up from 13.2% to 13.6%, while the eyes unit saw the rate rise from 11.9% to 13.1%.
Therese Davis, chief nurse and director of patient experience and flow at the trust, said: "Most people now expect to be reminded about appointments they have in other areas of life, so there's no reason that their healthcare should be any different.
"Our HIV and sexual health services have been using a similar reminder service for several years, so we see this latest initiative as an extension to a service that we already offer our patients."
The system sends automatic text messages through the nationally provided NHSnet service to patients seven days before their outpatient appointment. The trust sends 25,000 reminders each month.
Patients receive an automated phone call if they do not have mobile phones. They can request to opt out of the service if they don't wish to receive a reminder.
The trust's findings come after international academic research on a range of studies found that reminding patients by either text message or phone can cut those failing to turn up for appointments by 34%.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/healthcare-network/2011/sep/29/chelsea-westminster-sms-missed-appointments-london by Ben Whitelaw on 29th September 2011.
Wednesday, 19 October 2011
UK - SMBs Put Mobile Marketing on the Front Burner
Just nine months ago, the overwhelming majority of small business (SMB) owners didn’t consider mobile an important marketing channel. Most surveys showed limited interest and widespread neglect of mobile. It was a very low marketing priority. But as SMBs and their customers have adopted smartphones in increasing numbers, merchant interest in mobile marketing has grown — very rapidly.
Awareness of mobile advertising at the local level is also being fueled by outbound sales efforts from yellow pages publishers, newspapers and other providers of SMB marketing solutions. Mobile websites, mobile display ads and search marketing have been added to the mix of products that telephone and field sales reps are now routinely pitching to small business owners.
In February 2011, an online survey of more than 7,000 SMBs by Opus Research showed limited understanding and usage of mobile. Roughly 83% of respondents said they were not doing any form of mobile marketing. The small remainder who answered in the affirmative reported a variety of promotional efforts including mobile websites, coupons, search and apps.
The largest group of those who said they were doing some form of mobile marketing (5.8%) claimed to have a mobile website, while just over 2% said they had a mobile app. The next largest group (4.5%) said they were involved in mobile paid-search advertising. Very small numbers of SMBs said they were using SMS-based marketing or mobile coupons (2% or less).
Surveys must always be interpreted with some caution. It’s possible that some of responses were “aspirational,” meaning some “yes” answers were based on a near-term intention to do some of these things (e.g., build a mobile website) rather than existing behavior. So the actual “yes” numbers may have been fewer.
The same survey revealed that 74% of respondents didn’t even have a conceptual understanding of how to reach their prospects via mobile marketing. Yet two other studies, conducted just a few months later this year, reflect a dramatic shift in attitudes among SMBs about mobile.
A June 2011 survey by SMB portal Manta, of 1,000 US small business owners, found increasing awareness of the importance of mobile. The majority of Manta SMB survey respondents (69%) said it’s “important” or “very important” that their business be found easily on mobile devices. Manta’s survey also asked whether and how the SMBs used their devices in their daily business activities. The overwhelming majority (86%) reported heavy use of smartphones for business purposes: 50% said “at least 10 times per day.” One can readily infer that SMBs’ own usage of smartphones is a primary factor behind the survey finding that it’s now “important” to be found on mobile devices.
In addition, two recent SMB surveys by Borrell Associates showed more concrete interest in mobile and even a willingness to specify budget commitments. Borrell asked business owners “How likely is it that you will incorporate mobile elements into your advertising and marketing efforts to reach potential customers in 2011?” Forty eight percent said “somewhat likely” or “very likely.”
However a second survey by Borrell, among 484 business owners this summer, found that “four out of every five plan to spend money on mobile marketing this year; [and] on average these businesses expect to devote more than 20 percent of their ad budgets to mobile initiatives.” The survey also reported that 56% of these SMB respondents had been pitched mobile marketing solutions “vendors or media outlets.” Beyond SMB smartphone usage, this sales push is probably also a significant contributor to SMB interest in mobile.
Again, one must be cautious about extrapolating from these responses too aggressively. What they reflect is SMB “intent” first and foremost. We may not 20% of SMB marketing budgets going to mobile any time soon; attitudes and behavior are two different things. But the responses are significant nonetheless.
Comparing these three sets of survey data over the course of just three quarters in 2011 is striking. There has been a dramatic – even unprecedented – shift in perceptions and receptiveness to mobile among SMBs. In the world of small business marketing there’s never been a marketing channel or product that has gone from relative obscurity to top of mind like this in such a short period of time.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/smbs-put-mobile-marketing-on-the-front-burner-2011-10 by Greg Sterling on 18th October 2011.
Awareness of mobile advertising at the local level is also being fueled by outbound sales efforts from yellow pages publishers, newspapers and other providers of SMB marketing solutions. Mobile websites, mobile display ads and search marketing have been added to the mix of products that telephone and field sales reps are now routinely pitching to small business owners.
In February 2011, an online survey of more than 7,000 SMBs by Opus Research showed limited understanding and usage of mobile. Roughly 83% of respondents said they were not doing any form of mobile marketing. The small remainder who answered in the affirmative reported a variety of promotional efforts including mobile websites, coupons, search and apps.
The largest group of those who said they were doing some form of mobile marketing (5.8%) claimed to have a mobile website, while just over 2% said they had a mobile app. The next largest group (4.5%) said they were involved in mobile paid-search advertising. Very small numbers of SMBs said they were using SMS-based marketing or mobile coupons (2% or less).
Surveys must always be interpreted with some caution. It’s possible that some of responses were “aspirational,” meaning some “yes” answers were based on a near-term intention to do some of these things (e.g., build a mobile website) rather than existing behavior. So the actual “yes” numbers may have been fewer.
The same survey revealed that 74% of respondents didn’t even have a conceptual understanding of how to reach their prospects via mobile marketing. Yet two other studies, conducted just a few months later this year, reflect a dramatic shift in attitudes among SMBs about mobile.
A June 2011 survey by SMB portal Manta, of 1,000 US small business owners, found increasing awareness of the importance of mobile. The majority of Manta SMB survey respondents (69%) said it’s “important” or “very important” that their business be found easily on mobile devices. Manta’s survey also asked whether and how the SMBs used their devices in their daily business activities. The overwhelming majority (86%) reported heavy use of smartphones for business purposes: 50% said “at least 10 times per day.” One can readily infer that SMBs’ own usage of smartphones is a primary factor behind the survey finding that it’s now “important” to be found on mobile devices.
In addition, two recent SMB surveys by Borrell Associates showed more concrete interest in mobile and even a willingness to specify budget commitments. Borrell asked business owners “How likely is it that you will incorporate mobile elements into your advertising and marketing efforts to reach potential customers in 2011?” Forty eight percent said “somewhat likely” or “very likely.”
However a second survey by Borrell, among 484 business owners this summer, found that “four out of every five plan to spend money on mobile marketing this year; [and] on average these businesses expect to devote more than 20 percent of their ad budgets to mobile initiatives.” The survey also reported that 56% of these SMB respondents had been pitched mobile marketing solutions “vendors or media outlets.” Beyond SMB smartphone usage, this sales push is probably also a significant contributor to SMB interest in mobile.
Again, one must be cautious about extrapolating from these responses too aggressively. What they reflect is SMB “intent” first and foremost. We may not 20% of SMB marketing budgets going to mobile any time soon; attitudes and behavior are two different things. But the responses are significant nonetheless.
Comparing these three sets of survey data over the course of just three quarters in 2011 is striking. There has been a dramatic – even unprecedented – shift in perceptions and receptiveness to mobile among SMBs. In the world of small business marketing there’s never been a marketing channel or product that has gone from relative obscurity to top of mind like this in such a short period of time.
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/smbs-put-mobile-marketing-on-the-front-burner-2011-10 by Greg Sterling on 18th October 2011.
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