Underdeveloped or Underreported? Coverage of Pretesting Practices and Recommendations for Design of Text Message–Based Health Behavior Change Interventions

Abstract

Text messaging interventions for health are becoming increasingly popular, but it is unclear how rigorously such interventions are developed and pretested before being implemented. Pretesting is important to the development of successful health communication interventions. This study reviewed the literature published on text messaging health behavior change interventions and examined pretesting practices. Results showed that pretesting is rarely mentioned in articles, although it is not clear as to why. Six articles mentioned pretesting practices conducted for their mobile intervention, and three articles were written specifically on the pretesting of an intervention. Most pretesting used qualitative methods. Recommendations are provided on pretesting best practices and pretesting reporting to help other researchers in the field of mobile health.

The Effect of Timing and Frequency of Push Notifications on Usage of a Smartphone-Based Stress Management Intervention: An Exploratory Trial

“…The influence of notification content has been noted previously [20] and highlights the need to adequately pilot content [39] to ensure that it provides a sufficiently interesting and rewarding experience [40]. …”

Feasibility and acceptability of a mobile messaging program within a church-based healthy living intervention for African Americans and Latinos

“…Specific themes and corresponding messages were drawn and developed from publicly available resources, 33,34 given the advantages to using existing, pre-tested messaging content. 35 Certain messages were tailored for holidays (e.g. Thanksgiving) that occurred during the intervention period.…”

Beyond Basic Feedback in Mobile Brief Interventions: Designing SMS Message Content for Delivery to Young Adults During Risky Drinking Events

“…However, as researchers learn to harness these technologies and translate brief interventions to mobile platforms, there has been variable emphasis placed on the theoretical basis for the intervention content [37-41]. Among studies which do publish details on the theoretical basis of interventions, there is diversity in the theoretical frameworks and behavior change techniques which have been applied [38,41,42]; as noted by Abraham and Michie, there is no standardized vocabulary for describing behavior change intervention techniques [43]. Studies of SMS interventions increasingly use the labeling of brief intervention; however, many show limited links between message content and brief intervention or motivational interviewing theory.…”

“…The frequent use of feedback-only brief interventions in mobile health (mHealth) may have further implications for developing and interpreting the evidence base around effectiveness of mobile brief interventions for changing behavior such as alcohol consumption. A recent systematic review called for greater transparency in use of theory in developing mobile-based health interventions [38]. …”

“…Bock et al found that differences in language and construction of alcohol SMS content developed by either the researchers or students affected their interpretation and acceptability [41]. These authors, and others, have strongly advocated for participatory methods to be used in developing mHealth interventions as we continue to disentangle what components of our interventions are acceptable and effective [37,38,41]. Participatory methods are also important for the development of tailored interventions, which require understanding of the target population’s culture, needs, and preferences [37,47-49].…”