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International Journal of STD & AIDS

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Int J STD AIDS 2008;19:287-290
doi:10.1258/ijsa.2007.007264
© 2008 Royal Society of Medicine Press

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Reviews

SMS STI: a review of the uses of mobile phone text messaging in sexual health

Megan S C Lim BBiomedSci * {dagger} , Jane S Hocking PhD MPH * {ddagger}, Margaret E Hellard MBBS PhD * {dagger} and Campbell K Aitken PhD *

* Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health Research, Burnet Institute for Medical Research and Public Health; {dagger} Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, Monash University; {ddagger} Key Centre for Women's Health, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia

Correspondence to: Megan S C Lim, CEPHR, Burnet Institute, 85 Commercial Road, Melbourne, Vic. 3004, Australia Email: lim{at}burnet.edu.au

Short messaging service (SMS) (a.k.a. text messaging) is a fast, low cost and popular mode of communication among young people, and these advantages can be used in a variety of ways in the field of sexual health. This paper reviews the current published and grey literature and discusses applications of SMS in sexual health and the evidence base for their effectiveness. Examples of uses of SMS in sexual health include: communication between sexual health clinics and patients, partner notification and contact tracing, contraception reminders and sexual health promotion and education. However, although SMS has been applied in many ways to improve sexual health and there is some evidence of its effectiveness, very few of the applications described in this article have been evaluated. As SMS is likely to become more and more commonly used for sexual health purposes, evaluation of its benefits and effectiveness is essential.

Key Words: cellular phone • sexually transmitted diseases • reproductive health services • adolescent


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