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Background: The txt4health campaign is part of the Beacon Community Cooperative Agreement Program, an ONC grant program for communities to build and strengthen health information technology infrastructure to support clinical quality improvement and population health goals. The Crescent City Beacon Community (New Orleans) piloted one of the largest mhealth programs in the U.S. to raise awareness and education about type 2 diabetes. The program was supported by several national, state, and local partners, including a diverse community advisory group.
Program background: In January 2012, as part of the Federally-funded Beacon Community Program, the Crescent City Beacon Community officially launched the txt4health campaign with support from HHS/ONC, CDC, American Diabetes Association, Voxiva (technology vendor), BlueCross BlueShield of Louisiana, Novo Nordisk, Walmart and a diverse local community advisory group. This new public health campaign and texting service joined in the fight against type 2 diabetes, using texting technology to allow individuals to assess their diabetes risk levels; connect with the care delivery system and the wealth of existing diabetes / wellness resources; and engage with and manage their health.
Evaluation Methods and Results: We applied a pre and post campaign population-based evaluation design to assess the effectiveness of the social marketing campaign in raising awareness of the txt4health program in the community. We will present the results of the pre and post surveys conducted in the Greater New Orleans, as well as the enrollment information from the program data that was collected via text messaging, which includes information on the primary objectives of the campaign: raise awareness about type 2 diabetes, encourage participants to set weight loss and physical activity goals, and link participants to local care and resources.
Conclusions: The Crescent City Beacon Community enrolled over 1,700 participants into the txt4health mobile health information service. Over seventy-five percent (75%) of participants were either obese or overweight; sixty-seven percent (67%) set a weight loss or physical activity goal; and over 50% sought local care and resources at some point during the 14-week intervention. As a result of the social marketing campaign, over thirty percent (30%) of Greater New Orleans residents became aware of the txt4health campaign and core messaging.
Implications for research and/or practice: New strategies and innovations in care are required to stem the increasing burden of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Effective information technology tools can be used to generate awareness of risk factors for these conditions, and to promote early screening and prevention in the general public. Testing mHealth programs at the population and public health level for conditions like type 2 diabetes is therefore imperative.