MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross sectional study was carried out to examine the breast cancer prevention information seeking behavior among 450 students at one private university in Malaysia.

RESULTS: The mean age of respondents was 25±4.3 years. Common interpersonal information sources were doctors, friends, and nurses and common channel information sources were television, brochure, and internet. Overall, 89.9% used cell phones, 46.1% had an interest in receiving cell phone breast cancer prevention messages, 73.9% used text messaging, and 36.7% had an interest in receiving text breast cancer prevention messages. Bivariate analysis revealed significant differences among age, eduation, nationality and use of cell phones.

OBJECTIVE: The main objective was to examine the short- and long-term effects of SMS text messaging on exercise frequency in older adults. Secondary objectives were to investigate how SMS text messages impact study participants' exercise frequency and the effects of the intervention on secondary outcomes.

METHODS: The Malaysian Physical Activity for Health Study (myPAtHS) was a 24-week, 2-arm, parallel randomized controlled trial conducted in urban Malaysia. Participants were recruited via health talks in resident associations and religious facilities. Older Malaysians (aged 55-70 years) who used mobile phones and did not exercise regularly were eligible to participate in the study. Participants randomly allocated to the SMS texting arm received an exercise booklet and 5 weekly SMS text messages over 12 weeks. The content of the SMS text messages was derived from effective behavior change techniques. The non-SMS texting arm participants received only the exercise booklet. Home visits were conducted to collect outcome data: (1) exercise frequency at 12 and 24 weeks, (2) secondary outcome data (exercise self-efficacy, physical activity-related energy expenditure, sitting time, body mass index, grip and leg strength) at baseline and at 12 and 24 weeks. Intention-to-treat procedures were applied for data analysis. Semistructured interviews focusing primarily on the SMS text messages and their impact on exercise frequency were conducted at weeks 12 and 24.

RESULTS: In total, 43 participants were randomized into the SMS texting arm (n=22) and the non-SMS texting arm (n=21). Study-unrelated injuries forced 4 participants to discontinue after a few weeks (they were not included in any analyses). Overall retention was 86% (37/43). After 12 weeks, SMS texting arm participants exercised significantly more than non-SMS texting arm participants (mean difference 1.21 times, bias-corrected and accelerated bootstrap [BCa] 95% CI 0.18-2.24). Interview analysis revealed that the SMS text messages positively influenced SMS texting arm participants who experienced exercise barriers. They described the SMS text messages as being encouraging, a push, and a reminder. After 24 weeks, there was no significant difference between the research arms (mean difference 0.74, BCa 95% CI -0.30 to 1.76). There were no significant effects for secondary outcomes.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence that SMS text messaging is effective in promoting exercise in older adults from an upper-middle-income country. Although the effects were not maintained when SMS text messaging ceased, the results are promising and warrant more research on behavioral mobile health interventions in other regions.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted at a private university in Malaysia. A total of 188 undergraduate dental students were interviewed using a pre-tested and self-rated questionnaire. Data collected from participants were analysed using SPSS version 18.0. Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test and multiple logistic regression analyses were applied to study the relationship between explanatory variables and excessive Facebook use and excessive mobile texting.

RESULTS: The prevalence of excessive Facebook use and excessive mobile texting amongst undergraduate dental students was found to be 33.2% and 33.0%, respectively. According to a multivariate analysis, texting habits, such as the presence of daytime sleepiness after texting late at night (aOR = 2.682, 95% CI = 1.142-6.301) and the presence of anxious feelings if students failed to receive a timely response (aOR = 3.819, 95% CI = 1.580-9.230), were determined to be significant predictors of excessive mobile texting. Excessive Facebook use was found to be significantly related to three variables as follows: fewer numbers of close friends (aOR = 2.275, 95% CI = 1.057-4.898), the checking of updates on the Facebook walls of their friends (aOR = 2.582, 95% CI = 1.189-5.605) and the absence of active and vigorous feelings during Facebook use (aOR = 3.401, 95% CI = 1.233-9.434).

OBJECTIVES: To assess the effects of mobile phone text messaging in patients with established arterial occlusive events on adherence to treatment, fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events, and adverse effects.

SEARCH METHODS: We searched CENTRAL, MEDLINE, Embase, the Conference Proceedings Citation Index - Science on Web of Science on 7 November 2016, and two clinical trial registers on 12 November 2016. We contacted authors of included studies for missing information and searched reference lists of relevant papers. We applied no language or date restrictions.

SELECTION CRITERIA: We included randomised trials with at least 50% of the participants with established arterial occlusive events. We included trials investigating interventions using short message service (SMS) or multimedia messaging service (MMS) with the aim to improve adherence to medication for the secondary prevention of cardiovascular events. Eligible comparators were no intervention or other modes of communication.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: We used standard methodological procedures expected by Cochrane. In addition, we attempted to contact all authors on how the SMS were developed.

MAIN RESULTS: We included seven trials (reported in 13 reports) with 1310 participants randomised. Follow-up ranged from one month to 12 months. Due to heterogeneity in the methods, population and outcome measures, we were unable to conduct meta-analysis on these studies. All seven studies reported on adherence, but using different methods and scales. Six out of seven trials showed a beneficial effect of mobile phone text messaging for medication adherence. Dale 2015a, reported significantly greater medication adherence score in the intervention group (Mean Difference (MD) 0.58, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.19 to 0.97; 123 participants randomised) at six months. Khonsari 2015 reported less adherence in the control group (Relative Risk (RR) 4.09, 95% CI 1.82 to 9.18; 62 participants randomised) at eight weeks. Pandey 2014 (34 participants randomised) assessed medication adherence through self-reported logs with 90% adherence in the intervention group compared to 70% in the control group at 12 months. Park 2014a (90 participants randomised) reported a greater increase of the medication adherence score in the control group, but also measured adherence with an event monitoring system for a number of medications with adherence levels ranging from 84.1% adherence to 86.2% in the intervention group and 79.7% to 85.7% in the control group at 30 days. Quilici 2013, reported reduced odds of non-adherence in the intervention group (Odds Ratio (OR) 0.43, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.86, 521 participants randomised) at 30 days. Fang 2016, reported that participants given SMS alone had reduced odds of being non-adherent compared to telephone reminders (OR 0.40 95% CI 0.18 to 0.63; 280 patients randomised). Kamal 2015 reported higher levels of adherence in the intervention arm (adjusted MD 0.54, 95% CI 0.22 to 0.85; 200 participants randomised). Khonsari 2015 was the only study to report fatal cardiovascular events and only reported two events, both in the control arm. No study reported on the other primary outcomes. No study reported repetitive thumb injury or road traffic crashes or other adverse events that were related to the intervention.Four authors replied to our questionnaire on SMS development. No study reported examining causes of non-adherence or provided SMS tailored to individual patient characteristics.The included studies were small, heterogeneous and included participants recruited directly after acute events. All studies were assessed as having high risk of bias across at least one domain. Most of the studies came from high-income countries, with two studies conducted in an upper middle-income country (China, Malaysia), and one study from a lower middle-income country (Pakistan). The quality of the evidence was found to be very low. There was no obvious conflicts of interest from authors, although only two declared their funding.