HINZ 09 Wed 11.45am m-Health Robyn Whittaker, CTRU, University of Auckland

 Robyn talked about her work at the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University of Auckland. She highlighted some of the functions of mobile phones that fit well with the theories of behaviour change in public health.
STOMP is a text messaging program that helps people to stop smoking. The messages offer support, quit tips and behaviour change process. As well as the content of the messages the program gives smokers something to do with their fingers instead of smoking a cigarette. Messages are sent in Text ‘speak’. There was a rules messaging engine that determined which messages where sent and at what time. The messages prepared the user for their Quit Day, paired them with a Quit Buddy and then they got a month of free messages and started getting their support messages. Quizzes and polls helped add interactivity.
 
Results from STOMP were that it appeared to double short-term quit rates from 13% - 28%. It was as effective for Maori as for non-Maori. Trial took place in 2001 and results published in 2005. The STOMP trial has been turned into the Txt2Quit program which runs nationally throughout New Zealand and has 4000 registrations per year. HSAGlobal is distributing the technology internationally and a new trial is currently in progress in the UK.
 
STUB IT is a mobile video-messaging program that follows on from the STOMP trial but using the newer features now available for mobile phones. The videos use role models and the theories around observational learning and social cognitive theory. The program is made up of video diary messages of people who have been through the quitting process themselves. Again, the program uses a computerised rules engine and registration is done through a website. The system also allows users to text crave and relapse messages to get ongoing support other than the video diaries. A recent randomised controlled trial didn’t have enough participants to prove a significant effect of the program although qualitative data showed that users liked the program and that the theory behind the program was working with the participants. The reason for the lack of success with recruitment may be because the technology was slightly ahead of the current trends in usage of mobile phones. High charges for video-messaging meant that users might feel that they were going to be charged a lot (even though the participants received the messages for free).
 
MEMO is a new depression prevention trial using mobile phone technology. It uses Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help teach adolescents skills and techniques to cope with help prevent them getting depressed. The main challenges were around turning CBT into bite sized messages that could work over the mobile phones. The system uses cartoons, videos and messages to deliver the therapy. Issues with the trial included the need to control for the placebo effect and contamination between groups. To do this they used other types of video messages that were not anything to do with depression such as recycling or healthy eating.