Using text messages to improve patient-doctor communication among racial and ethnic minority adults: An innovative solution to increase influenza vaccinations

PREVENTIVE MEDICINE

卷:69

Editorial Material

Phillips, Ashley L.¹  Kumar, Disha¹  Patel, Sajani¹  Arya, Monisha^2,3,4 

[1] Rice Univ, Sch Social Sci, Houston, TX 77005 USA

[2] Baylor Coll Med, Infect Dis Sect, Houston, TX 77030 USA

[3] Baylor Coll Med, Sect Hlth Serv Res, Houston, TX 77030 USA

[4] Michael E DeBakey VA Med Ctr, Ctr Innovat Qual Effectiveness & Safety, Houston, TX 77030 USA

关键词: Health disparities;    Minority health;    Influenza;    Patient-doctor communication;    mHealth;    Text messaging;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.09.009

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Despite the 2010 CDC recommendation that all adults receive influenza vaccinations, in the 2013-2014 influenza season, only 35% of Blacks and 37% of Hispanics were vaccinated, compared to 40% of Whites. This disparity could be due to poor patient-doctor communication, among other barriers. Doctors provide more health information to active communicators; unfortunately, they perceive minority patients to be poor communicators. A novel way to prompt minority patients to better communicate with their doctors is through mHealth. Text messaging is a simple, low cost, mHealth platform widely-used among racial and ethnic minorities. A text message campaign could be effective in providing vaccine education and prompting patients to converse with their doctors about influenza vaccinations. Text prompts could improve patient communication, thus increasing their likelihood of vaccination. This campaign could accomplish Healthy People 2020 goals: increase influenza vaccination, improve patient-doctor communication, increase use of mHealth, and reduce health disparities. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

【 授权许可】

Free