Text messaging for farmworker safety: The Text4Salud project

Text4Salud tested the effectiveness of text messaging in delivering pesticide safety information to Spanish-dominant farmworkers. The project included the California Department of Public Health and a coalition of Monterey and Santa Cruz county community-based organizations.

From 2006-2010, 43% of California’s occupational pesticide illnesses involved farmworkers. Workers and their families suffer many adverse many health effects and need ongoing information and resources.

Our research showed high rates of mobile phone use, including texting, among farmworkers. Coalition promotores also wanted digital resources and indicated their clients text.

Content from www.laseguridaddesufamilia.com was adapted and prioritized by promotores, ensuring an authentic voice and community buy-in. We then crafted information-rich 160-character texts on pesticide illness, reporting, and prevention.

A self-deployed, feature and analytics-rich text messaging platform used by us since 2010 for several bilingual public health campaigns was utilized. Promotores recruited farmworkers. Sign-up was done by texting the word “texto,” to our project shortcode. Participants could opt-out any time. Over 12 weeks during the spring 2014 growing season, 44 farmworkers received 43 messages including 5 evaluation questions.

Evaluative messages focused on acquired knowledge and actions taken (“Do you change your work boots/shoes before entering your home? Text yes or no) and the service (“Do you find these messages about protecting yourself and your family from pesticides helpful? Yes or no”). The average response rate was 40%, higher than the 23% norm cited by the Mobile Marketing Association for mobile campaigns. Ninety-three percent of farmworkers found the messages helpful and wanted more health information via text.