Will text messaging patients ages 30-70 each September increase yearly influenza vaccine rates?

The chosen research question is, “Will text messaging patients ages 30-70 each
September increase yearly influenza vaccine rates?” The theory selected is the Behaviorist
Theory. More than 226,000 hospitalizations every year are attributed to influenza infections.
Infants are more likely to suffer from the effects of the influenza disease compared to other
patient groups (Stockwell et al., 2014). Vaccination is one of the methods that can be used to
reduce the rate of influenza infections and drive down the disease burden. It is recommended that
pregnant women must get influenza vaccinations during pregnancy. Despite the
recommendations, most pregnant women do not receive the relevant influenza vaccinations
(Stockwell et al., 2014). Research indicates that text messaging is one of the methods that can
help increase vaccination coverage. Text messages can help remind individuals about influenza
vaccinations. Most adults in the United States use cell phones, and therefore it can be
hypothesized that the use of text messages can be used to increase the influenza vaccination
rates.

Reference

Stockwell, M. S., Westhoff, C., Kharbanda, E. O., Vargas, C. Y., Camargo, S., Vawdrey, D. K.,
& Castaño, P. M. (2014). Influenza vaccine text message reminders for urban, low-
income pregnant women: a randomized controlled trial. American journal of public
health, 104(S1), e7-e12.