Text messages viable for rapid information gathering during outbreaks, study finds

A study conducted by New York University confirmed that text messages are a rapid means of information spread amidst public health crises, representing an invaluable means of data sourcing.

“Sourcing data from individuals directly, such as through mobile phones, has the potential to provide windows into public health phenomena, especially during an acute situation like an Ebola outbreak,” said Rumi Chunara, assistant professor of computer science and engineering and global public health at NYU and the study’s senior author.

While national surveys show larger trends, pulling from digital data as such can provide a more real-time chronicling of health changes. According to Chunara, their use has the potential to allow health professionals to more quickly, and at a lower cost, target affected regions.

For the study, Chunara’s team polled Liberians by text message to query about their health, especially where maternal health services were concerned. In all, nearly 7,000 individuals responded between March and June 2015, during which time researchers observed that hospital-based deliveries were significantly lower during an Ebola outbreak than after that outbreak. They used statistical methods to adjust for differences in cell phone users and a 2013 general population survey.

Their findings were published in Nature Digital Medicine.