Mobile Technologies - eHealth Marketing
Introduction
More Americans own mobile phones than landline phones or even computers. The ubiquity of mobile devices makes them an ideal medium for health messaging and promotion. CDC is exploring a number of ways to use mobile technology to promote healthy and safe behaviors.
Selected Projects
Texting4Health Conference
CDC co-sponsored a one day event in February, 2008 at the Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab. The event, Texting4Health, was be facilitated by BJ Fogg, an expert in the area of mobile technology, and focused on how mobile text messaging can promote better health. CDC is working with numerous public health partners to develop research and best practices for using mobile phones to improve health.
Mobile ‘KnowIt’ Campaign and HIV Testing Locator
In a collaborative project between the Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, AIDS.gov, and the Kaiser Family Foundation, a mobile text application was developed to locate HIV testing centers by zip code. Users can text their zip code to "KnowIt" (566948) and, within seconds, receive a text message identifying an HIV testing site near them. Users who do not have cell phones or prefer to use the Web can access the online testing database at HIVtest.org to find testing centers.
Personal Public Service Announcement (PPSA)
CDC recently participated in an innovative project, lead by the New Media Institute at the University of Georgia, to produce a new kind of PSA, called a Personal Public Service Announcement or ‘PPSA’. The PPSA was developed in recognition of the increasing need to reach target audiences, in particular youth, via personal media, like mobile phones and MP3 players. The PPSA also marks one of the first CDC attempts at using user-generated content to promote healthy behaviors. The PPSAs were developed in a single day by teams of student journalists from Temple University, the University of Georgia, and the University of South Carolina to encourage HIV testing for World AIDS Day. This project was funded by Verizon Communications, with support from CDC, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, the Paul C. and Margaret Beasely Broun Student Support Fund, AIDS Research Consortium of Atlanta, Philadelphia FIGHT, the AIDS Library, the Youth Health Empowerment Project, South Carolina Educational Television and the AIDS Activities Coordinating Office from the Philadelphia Public Health Department. The students’ PPSAs videos are available on the PPSA Website and YouTube.
Text Messaging Update Service
CDC’s very popular email subscription service, released in November of 2006, allows CDC.gov users to receive e-mail notifications when new information is added to selected CDC.gov web pages. To compliment this service, CDC recently piloted a mobile text message subscription service where users can subscribe to receive text messages when the Weekly Influenza Surveillance Report Map is released.
Mobile Diabetes Management Research Project
In partnership with Georgia Tech University, CDC has begun to study the use of a mobile phone in improving management of diabetes. Patients can use the phone to record their blood sugar, 
and the readings are made available on a collaborative website for discussion with their diabetes educator. Preliminary findings indicate that participants improve their ability to effectively reflect on diabetes management.
Public Health Impact
Cell phones and other mobile devices have the potential to revolutionize public health communications. Building the research on how these devices can be used to provide immediate access to credible just-in-time health information is a significant focus for interactive media activities at CDC. In collaboration with partners in public health and technology, CDC is working to find innovative ways of exchanging vital information via mobile platforms.
CDC Partners
National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
Division of Diabetes Translation
Public Health Partners
Stanford University Persuasive Technology Lab
New Media Institute of the University of Georgia
Georgia Institute of Technology’s School of Interactive Computing
Related Resources (
)
Mobile Users
Text Messaging
Mobile Video Users
Page last modified on April 14, 2008