Aims
Short Messaging Service (SMS) have been shown to be a useful recruitment strategy for survey participation in various disease, but are not commonly used to recruit cancer populations. This analysis reports the use of SMS to recruit cancer patients attending four health services to participate in an online survey about COVID-19 vaccination.
Methods
Between June and August 2021, the CANVACCS study was conducted at one metropolitan health service: Monash Health (MH), and three regional services: Bendigo Health (BH) and Latrobe Regional Hospital (LRH), in Victoria, and Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service (SCHHS) in southern Queensland. Invitation to participate in the CANVACCS survey was sent centrally by SMS from each health service to patients with an oncology appointment scheduled during the next 6 months. A follow-up SMS was sent three days later. The proportion of older patients (aged ≥65 years) who responded was collected.
Results
Patients with a mobile phone number were sent SMS invitations at MH (5132), BH (1049), LRH (719), and SCHHS (1627). The proportion of invited patients aged ≥65 years at MH, BH, and SCHHS was 2484 (48.4%), 566 (54.0%), and 858 (52.7%). At MH, BH, LRH, and SCHHS, 699 (13.6%), 257 (24.6%), 141 (19.6%) and 296 (17.4%) responses were collected, respectively. The proportion of respondents aged ≥65 was 266 (38.1%), 128 (49.8%), 73 (51.8%), and 141 (47.6%), respectively. Comparatively, the proportion of respondents aged <65 was 433 (61.9%), 129 (50.2%), 68 (48.2%), and 155 (52.4%), respectively. The majority of responses occurred within one week of the SMS recruitment.
Conclusions
SMS recruitment is a viable and likely underused method for recruitment of a large number of cancer patients in a short time span. Older patients and regional-based patients are able to participate despite preconceptions that they may be underrepresented in recruitment using this technology.