Silver Award for Texting Videos
January 9, 2012
Text messaging could be an effective way to convey public health emergency information to a variety of populations, both before and after a disaster strikes. That's why the Northwest Preparedness and Emergency Response Research Center has been researching text messaging in a public health context since 2008.
This work, directed by researchers at Public Health - Seattle & King County (PHSKC), led to the creation of a four-part video series which was awarded the silver award from the National Public Health Information Coalition (NPHIC) in late 2011.
"This video series is aimed at health departments that want to provide timely, credible information to their residents in a low-cost, effective way," said one of the research co-investigators, Hilary Karasz, PhD. “Mobile technology, particularly text messaging, has been embraced by a variety of audiences who want information delivered to them directly on their mobile phones. This video series should provide health agencies with what they need to know to join the mobile revolution.”
The video series is broken down into four chapters, providing key information for organizations considering implementing text messaging within their public health programs. PHSKC researchers looked at how and why people use texting, what audiences want from public health departments in texting programs, how text messaging works, and considerations when implementing texting programs. The video series is the most recent addition to a bundle of resources that have been made available for other health departments interested in texting programs.
This five-year research project was funded in 2008 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is housed in NWCPHP.
Related resources:
The research project about text messaging for public health emergencies
The National Public Health Information Coalition awards announcement
