Use of text messaging in the aftercare of patients with bulimia nervosa

Abstract

The development of a text messaging (SMS) based intervention for the aftercare treatment of bulimia nervosa is reported. The programme is offered to bulimic patients for 6 months following discharge from inpatient psychotherapy in a German hospital for psychosomatic medicine. The intervention consists of weekly messages from the patients on their bulimic symptomatology and a corresponding weekly feedback that is a mixture of pre-programmed parts and individually tailored information. An ongoing pilot study is described, designed to investigate the acceptance, the practicability, and the effectiveness of the intervention. Preliminary results indicate that the programme is well-accepted and gives support to bulimic patients after finishing inpatient treatment. Advantages and limitations of the use of the SMS intervention programme in the treatment of bulimia nervosa are discussed.

Use of Text Messaging for Monitoring Sugar-sweetened Beverages, Physical Activity, and Screen Time in Children: A Pilot Study

“…Thus, children appear to prefer a technological, tailored, interactive program versus a more traditional paper diary program and when enrolled, those using SMS may have greater adherence and higher completion rates. These results are similar to previous studies using SMS for providing support and effecting behavior change, suggesting that SMS is a feasible and acceptable method for communicating with individuals (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)30). According to the cognitive social learning theory, perhaps the support and positive reinforcement led to adherence and acceptability of the self-monitoring program.…”

“…Similarly, in participants over age 16 in a smoking research study, SMS messages offering support and advice resulted in more participants who quit smoking after 6 weeks compared to a control group (23). Finally, weekly SMS self-monitoring of bulimic symptoms with automatic SMS feedback resulted in good monitoring adherence and acceptability in women aged 16-44 postdischarge from inpatient treatment (25). Given these observations, SMS may be promising for self-monitoring behaviors critical to childhood weight control.…”

“…Further, larger samples with wider recruitment are needed; a large portion of our sample came from our listserv recruitment which poses selection bias. Given that preliminary studies are finding acceptability with SMS for use with various populations (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)30), the efficacy of this approach with larger more controlled studies is needed.…”

“…According to cognitive social learning theory, health behavior will change when goals are set, and when cueing, support, and positive reinforcement is provided (19). SMS has been shown to be acceptable for providing support, effecting behavior change, and/or maintaining treatment gains in diabetes (20,21), asthma (22), smoking cessation (23,24), and bulimia nervosa (25,26). Although no study to our awareness has investigated SMS in young children, previous studies have used somewhat older children and adolescents.…”

Sistema de e-terapia inteligente. Un nuevo paradigma de psicoterapia asistida por ordenador

“…En el caso particular de los mensajes de texto (Bauer et al, 2003)realizaron un estudio para el post-tratamiento de la bulimia nerviosa con pacientes recién dados de alta. Durante 6 meses los pacientes semanalmente informaban sobre su sintomatología bulímica, a través de mensajes de texto y recibían un combinado de información pre-programada e información adaptada a su situación.…”