Why Text Works Better Than an App After Discharge

Pew Research Center reports that 98% of U.S. adults own a cellphone of some kind, and 91% own a smartphone. Pew Research Center The gap between those two numbers is real people. Some clients have older phones, limited data or a phone that changes often. A text reaches all of them. An app reaches only those who download it, log in and keep it installed.

A 2019 study looked at real-world usage data for 93 mental health apps. The median app kept only 3.9% of its users after 15 days, and 3.3% after 30 days. Baumel et al., 2019 Apps can be valuable for motivated users. For staying connected with everyone after discharge, losing most people within two weeks is a serious problem.

Text-based follow-up has been tested in randomized trials.

In a German trial, adults leaving alcohol detox received automated texts for 12 months asking whether they had been drinking or needed help. A reply asking for help, or no reply at all, triggered a call from a therapist. After a year, 22.2% of the text group were drinking heavily, compared with 32.3% of those who got usual care. Lucht et al., 2021, via Recovery Research Institute

A Swiss trial compared phone and text check-ins after residential alcohol treatment. Frequent phone calls produced the strongest abstinence results. Text check-ins still raised people’s confidence in staying abstinent compared with no scheduled check-ins. Graser et al., 2021, via Recovery Research Institute

Both studies point the same way. Texts work best when they lead to a person. A text can reach everyone cheaply, and a human call can follow up with the people who need it.

Moira sends check-ins by text from your program’s dedicated number, so clients have nothing to download. When someone says they are struggling, or stops replying, your team is alerted to reach out. The text does the reaching, and your staff do the caring.