Victoria H. Jennings, Ph.D Meredith Puleio, BA Institute for Reproductive Health, Georgetown University CycleTel™: My Mobile Phone is My Family Planning Method

CycleTel™ Concept: Facilitate use of the Standard Days Method ® by alerting women of their fertile days via SMS Behavior Change: Women/couples who are non- method or traditional method users: - Begin using modern FP - Learn fertility awareness - Improve communication with partner about FP

Components of CycleTel Proof-of-Concept in Lucknow, India 3 PhasesObjectives Focus Group Discussions 54 participants  Understand phone use patterns  Determine potential interest among target audience  Explore appropriate messaging and preferences for the service Cognitive Interviews 18 participants  Verify comprehension of messages  Adapt and finalize messages Manual Testing 26 women/couples  Enroll women for 2 cycles to assess feasibility, satisfaction and correct method use (using FrontlineSMS software)  Troubleshoot problems and determine how to improve service COMPLETE!

Need and Demand Exists  Both men and women are interested  100% wanted to continue the service  All would recommend to friends Timing/Frequency of Messages  60% viewed between 5-10pm  40% viewed between 12-5pm  100% said it was the right # of messages Messages are Easy to Understand and Facilitate Couple Communication  In Hinglish (Hindi spelled with Roman letters)  84% said sending/receiving SMS was very easy  100% knew when pregnancy was likely  95% reported improved relationship with partner People are Willing-to-Pay for the Service  100% of users would pay for the service on top of the normal cost for sending messages  Range: Rs25-50 per month Topline Research Findings “This is an idea that can change your life!” –Male “I am mostly free at that time of day. It maintains privacy.” – Female “We were just sending the day of our menstruation and then received messages. It’s very easy.” -Female “I was showing the message to my husband and we were managing our fertile days accordingly.” -Female

 Language  Timing & frequency of messages  Confidentiality (especially for FP/RH messages)  Hotline support  Literacy level and mobile phone skill level Key Considerations for mHealth BCC Applications

Manual testing in New Delhi with middle-to-upper income quintile women & couples Target sample size: 60 women, 24 men Test message preferences & additional RH messages Results expected January 2011 Explore partnerships with telecom providers and software developers What’s Next for CycleTel?

Text INFO to to try CycleTel. You’ll be entered into the FrontlineSMS system and will receive a prompt today. Answer the prompts to see if CycleTel will work for you! Questions? Ideas? CycleTel Screening Simulation