TitleRecruiting and Retaining Participants in a School-Based Texting Program
Publication TypeJournal Article
Year of Publication2014
AuthorsWorthington, L, E. Duru, B, Lachenmayr, L, Grutzmacher, SK
JournalJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
Volume114
Issue9
PaginationA98
Date Published09/2014
Abstract

Learning Outcome Participants will learn how one program has been successful in recruiting and retaining individuals in a school-based text-messaging program focusing on nutrition and physical activity. While direct nutrition education easily reaches children in schools, audiences of parents are less accessible. Maryland SNAP-Ed program developed a school-based texting program, Text2BHealthy, to reach parents of students receiving classroom-based nutrition education. Text-based programs have shown to struggle meeting recruitment goals (Whittaker et al., 2012) As a result, Text2BHealthy has explored several unique methods to enroll and retain parents throughout the school year. Methods of recruitment include in-person school events, pre and post-test surveys, posters in schools, flyers in backpacks, and incentive items printed with enrollment information. Individuals may have opted in by texting a short code or by providing their number to a staff person. These methods were evaluated using administrative data collected through the online platform used to send text messages. We utilized a self-enrollment strategy during the first of three program years, which yielded 203 participants, a 14% enrollment rate. During the second and third program years, we also collected phone numbers at events and through parent surveys, increasing enrollment to 1149 participants (25 %) in year 2 and 2470 participants (33%) in year 3 to date. More eligible parents enrolled with staff enrollment, and fewer errors in enrollment occurred. Ninety-three percent of parents have stayed enrolled to date (n=2470). When parents opt out, phone interviews are conducted (n=168) to collect program feedback. Thirty percent of those who opt-out ask to re-enroll. The examined adaptations provide practical information for organizations planning and implementing text-based programs. Funding Disclosure Funding for the SNAP-Ed program is provided by USDA in cooperation with the Maryland Department of Human Resources and the University of Maryland Extension

DOI10.1016/j.jand.2014.06.337