Efficacy of the Smartphone App for sending Text Reminders to reduce ‘No Shows’ in Speech Therapy Sessions at a Tertiary Care Centre in India

Purpose: There is a need for intensive therapy following cochlear implantation, but many clients fail to show up for their scheduled appointments at the therapy centres. This study aimed to establish the efficacy of a Smartphone app in reducing the ‘no shows’ among the population with cochlear implants (CI). A secondary aim was to find the level of satisfaction with automated reminder SMS messages among parents of children with CI.

Method: The study participants were 24 children with CI who were attending the Auditory Verbal Therapy sessions at a tertiary care centre. Half of them formed the study group and the other half the control group. Parents in the study group, with access to working mobile phones, received SMS text reminders about therapy and mapping sessions; parents in the control group did not receive any reminders. Data was analysed after 3 months, using a z test for proportions to find the difference in the mean percentage of ‘shows’ in the study and control groups. A questionnaire was administered to the parents in order to evaluate their satisfaction with the SMS reminders.

Results: The number of 'shows' in the study group was 209 out of the scheduled 233 appointments, while the number of 'shows' in the control gorup was 173 out of the scheduled 232 appointments. The reminder system was effective for parents of children with cochlear implants to maintain appointment schedules with greater regularity as compared to the parents who did not receive the reminders.

Conclusion: SMS text reminders via a Smartphone app are a low-cost and effective method of reducing the ‘no shows’ in the Auditory Verbal Therapy and mapping sessions for children with cochlear implants. Parents of the children in the study expressed a high level of satisfaction with the SMS text reminders. Future studies with a larger number of subjects could consider controlling the variables like income, education level, distance from the therapy centres and motivation of the parents.

Results: The number of 'shows' in the study group was 209 out of the scheduled 233 appointments, while the number of 'shows' in the  control group was 173 out of the scheduled 232 appointments. The reminder system was effective for parents of children with cochlear implants to maintain appointment schedules with greater regularity as compared to the parents who did not receive the reminders.