Using Text Message Reminders to Promote Program Attendance: Considerations from STREAMS

This brief presents six considerations for practitioners who want to try using text message reminders to increase participation at the first session of a voluntary program and regular attendance thereafter. The considerations are drawn from a recent study assessing the effectiveness of text message reminders in promoting couples’ attendance at a voluntary healthy marriage and relationship education (HMRE) workshop in Florida. The study was conducted by Mathematica and Public Strategies as part of the Strengthening Relationship Education and Marriage Services (STREAMS) evaluation for the Administration for Children and Families.

• Seek input from community members, program staff, and clients. Gathering input on the content, format, and timing of text message reminders can help you develop messages that resonate with clients and better support program attendance. For example, interviews with program staff can inform the content and timing of the reminders.
• Understand your service population. Designing effective text message reminders requires understanding your clients’ needs, preferences, goals, motivations, and constraints. Consider clients’ experiences with the program and examine the program’s recruitment methods, content, incentives, and supports, which can shed light on attendance barriers and facilitators.
• Carefully plan the content of the text message reminders. Text message reminders should be personalized, concise, include the essential information needed to attend the program, and be mindful of clients’ circumstances and preferences. Findings from the STREAMS evaluation revealed that simple reminders were more effective at increasing attendance at the first session of a voluntary HMRE workshop than sending no reminders at all or sending enhanced reminders that included motivational messages, graphics, and peer testimonials.
• Be intentional about the timing and frequency of messages. Reminders should be well timed and delivered close to an upcoming event. Consider clients’ schedules when deciding when to send reminders. Be intentional about how many reminders you send; send enough to have them noticed but not too many to be intrusive or repetitive.
• Track and assess your progress. Gather information about your text message reminders and clients’ engagement with the program. Use the information to assess the effectiveness of the reminders.

As part of the STREAMS evaluation, Mathematica and Public Strategies designed and conducted a random assignment impact study assessing the effectiveness of text message reminders in promoting couples’ attendance at a voluntary five-session HMRE group workshop called ELEVATE. Over a three-year period, members of the evaluation team collaborated with program staff to diagnose potential barriers to workshop attendance and develop different types of text message reminders to promote attendance. To test the effectiveness of the reminders, the evaluation team randomly assigned couples to either a control group that received no reminders or to one of several treatment groups that received different types of reminders. The authors of this brief used the impact study findings and other research on text message reminders to develop the considerations presented in the brief.

Patnaik, A., Daniel Friend, and Rebecca Dunn. “Using Text Message Reminders to Promote Program Attendance: Considerations from STREAMS.” OPRE report #2022-313. Washington, DC: Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2022.