Going Mobile: Integrating Texting and Online Tools into Health Care Delivery
<p>Innovative programs in New Zealand and the Netherlands are using texting and online programs to keep people healthier, especially in underserved communities. In a new <a href="/blog/2011/going-mobile-integrating-texting-and-online-tools-health-care-delivery">blog post</a>, former Commonwealth Fund Harkness Fellows Robyn Whittaker of the University of Auckland and Hedda van't Land of the Netherlands' Trimbos Institute share experiences that may be relevant to the United States.</p>
<p>New Zealand created one of the first free public health campaigns using text messages—the smoking cessation program Text2Quit, which has since been adapted for the United Kingdom. And in the Netherlands, a large Web-based depression prevention program uses educational and social media tools to engage those with mild to moderate depression. </p>
<p>"Public health programs can take advantage of information technologies to communicate and engage with targeted audiences—delivering tools and support when and where people want them," the authors write. <br /></p>