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ISSN 2307-2113 (Electronic)
Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (ACIMED)

2020, Number 3

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Revista Cubana de Información en Ciencias de la Salud (ACIMED) 2020; 31 (3)

Impact of text messages to reduce absenteeism in specialized consultations: a aleatorized study

Grassi RJ, Fiorin AC, de Vasconcelos KA, dos Santos NET, Izoton SAD, Zandonade E

Language: Spanish
References: 41
Page: 1-22
PDF size: 362.16 Kb.


ABSTRACT

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the impact of WhatsApp® text messaging reminders on the rate of non-attendance to pediatric specialty consultation. Randomized examination was conducted of a control group and an experimental group. Participants in the experimental group received a WhatsApp® reminder of the appointment date. All the appointments scheduled for the pediatric subspecialty were included, i.e. first-time appointments as well as those following. Data analysis was based on percentage estimation by the chi-square test. A total 998 participants were included in the analysis, most of whom were men (59%). The non-attendance rate was 24% in the experimental group and 25.5% in the control group, for a difference of 1.5% (p= 0.580). The non-attendance rate was 30% (p= 0.009), particularly high for appointments scheduled for Mondays. In general terms, studies using text messaging as reminders in different populations reduced the rate of non-attendance to consultation. However, our results suggest that sending WhatsApp® text messages as reminders of medical appointments is not an effective tool to reduce non-attendance to pediatric consultation.


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