Objective: Adolescents are the largest users of mobile technology; yet, there are little data regarding their receptivity to the use of mobile health technology (mHealth) from the emergency department (ED). The objective of this study was to determine adolescents' preferences for receiving ED discharge and follow-up information via mHealth and factors associated with those preferences.
Methods: We administered an anonymous self-reporting survey to patients aged 14 to 19 years discharged from an urban pediatric ED. We conducted exploratory bivariate analyses to evaluate differences in communication preferences based on patient characteristics. We used multivariable logistic regression to determine whether preference for health information via mHealth is associated with frequent information technology (IT) use, adjusting for age, sex, ethnicity, and insurance status.
Results: Four hundred thirty-nine adolescents completed the survey. Most were female (n = 279, 64%), 14 to 17 years old (n = 247, 57%), Hispanic (n = 359, 86%), and insured (n = 388, 88%). Adolescents used IT often, texting more than 30 times a day (58%) and emailing more than once a day (61%). Most (n = 335, 78%) were interested in electronic communication from the ED. Teens expressed particular interest in using email for discharge instructions (n = 196, 47%), physician referrals (n = 197, 48%), and test results (n = 201, 48%) and using texting for medication (n = 155, 38%) and appointment reminders (n = 170, 41%). Individuals tended to prefer communication with IT modes that they typically used, although only email was independently associated with preference for this mode (adjusted odds ratio, 2.8; 95% confidence interval, 1.5-5.3).
Conclusions: Adolescent patients are interested in receiving health information from the ED, mainly via email and texting. Future ED interventions should evaluate the effectiveness of these modalities to communicate with patients after discharge.