We know that going to a hospital for emergency care is stressful for teens and that having support afterwards can be very helpful. Encouraging text messages can remind teens that they matter and that people care about them. Caring Contacts are caring, supportive text messages sent by the emergency care team during the year after a visit.
Our team at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago is looking to test Caring Contacts to see how well they work for teens seen in the emergency department. Teens who join the study will be randomly placed (like a coin flip) into one of two groups. One group will receive usual care, and the other group will receive caring texts.
Teens in the text message group will receive texts about once per week to start and less often over time. The text messages are simply reminders that the care team is thinking of them. Teens can choose to stop receiving texts at any time. Texts are one-way, cannot be replied to (so there cannot be an ongoing text message conversation), and will not be monitored. If teens need to talk to someone or are in crisis, they may call or text 988 to reach a trained counselor who can help.
Everyone in the study will complete short surveys when enrolled in the study and at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months. Some teens in the text message group may be invited to join a 1-hour virtual interview to share their thoughts about the text program. Teens who participate can earn up to $210 in gift cards for completing surveys and the virtual interview.
The National Institutes of Health funded this study. If you have questions, concerns, or complaints, you can reach out to the study team at Hoffmannlab@luriechildrens.org
You can also email Dr. Jennifer Hoffmann, who is in charge of this study (email: jhoffmann@luriechildrens.org), or the Lurie Children’s Hospital Institutional Review Board, which approved the study (email: IRB@luriechildrens.org; phone: 312-503-7110).
Lurie Children’s IRB# 2024-6680
