Abstract

Cell phone technology is increasingly used in health and social work services for information delivery, engagement, and retention in research protocols. In this study, we explored the use of text messaging to increase engagement, participation, and retention in a responsible fatherhood program. In this mixed-methods study, men who enrolled in the program over a one year period (N = 212) were randomly assigned to receive an intervention consisting of twice-weekly messages for 12 weeks. This study employed a concurrent nested mixed methods design with a main quantitative experimental methodology and a supplemental qualitative methodology. Measures of program engagement and participation were collected at 6- and 12-weeks post-enrollment, as well as overall retention in both the fatherhood program and the research protocol. Qualitative interviews with a sub-sample of study participants were conducted after 6 weeks of services. No statistically significant differences were found in the quantitative portion of the study across randomized groups but participants reported positive experiences with the intervention in both program feedback and qualitative interviews. Text messaging may be a low-cost, viable mechanism for engaging fathers in interventions, but further research is needed to determine the impact on program outcomes.

摘要

手机技术越来越多地用于健康和社会工作服务，以实现研究协议中的信息传递、参与和保留。在这项研究中，我们探索了使用短信来提高参与度、参与度和保留责任感的父亲计划。在这项混合方法研究中，参加该计划超过一年的男性 ( N = 212) 被随机分配接受由每周两次的消息组成的干预，持续 12 周。本研究采用并发嵌套混合方法设计，主要定量实验方法和补充定性方法。在注册后 6 周和 12 周收集计划参与度和参与度，以及在父亲计划和研究方案中的总体保留情况。在 6 周的服务后，对研究参与者的子样本进行了定性访谈。在随机分组的研究的定量部分没有发现统计学上的显着差异，但参与者在项目反馈和定性访谈中都报告了积极的干预经验。短信可能是一种低成本，