Mobile Phones and Health Communication for Young Adults: An Exploratory Case Study about Incorporating Text messaging in Pregnancy Care Support in Edmonton

• Author / Creator

  Keller, Angela Maria

• Research shows that reproductive health initiatives for youth, using SMS (texting), are successful worldwide. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore and describe how introducing SMS in an agency supporting people facing unplanned pregnancies in Edmonton could enhance agency-client relationships. Six counselors and six young adult clients were individually interviewed. Findings exposed that adopting a technology in a non-profit agency is a complex process, where technological, social, economic, cultural, and personal factors all play a key role. The clients belong to the mobile phone culture and were open to receiving relevant SMS from the agency; however, the counselors did not adopt SMS because of their beliefs and behaviors towards this technology. This study reveals that introducing SMS to the agency did not improve the agency-client relationships, but it could if the service becomes useful for clients. Further research in this area is needed and would be valuable.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Text message
  • Text messaging
  • Technology acceptance
  • Texting
  • Technology adoption
  • Exploratory
  • Case study
  • Youth
  • Youth pregnancy
  • Mobile phone culture
  • Health communication
  • Canada
  • Descriptive
  • FrontlineSMS
  • Unplanned pregnancies
  • Edmonton non-profits
  • Qualitative research
  • FLSMS
  • Reproductive health
  • SMS
  • Young adults
  • Participant observation
  • Edmonton

• Graduation date

  Spring 2013

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Arts

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3J98Z

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.