Conclusions
Breast Cancer, Kane, MH, cancer, TIDieR, ALL, Leigh, Cancer
BREAST CANCER, HEART, CANCER, RECRUITMENT, MITCHELL, BREAST, LEIGH, CANCER
EMPOWER-SMS COVID-19 was rapidly implemented, had a broad reach, with high retention, acceptability, and engagement among diverse participants. Several factors influencing engagement with the program arose, including (1) feeling supported and less alone, (2) motivation and reassurance for health self-management, (3) the variety of information, (4) weblinks to information and resources, and (5) the option to save the SMS text messages. Moreover, the program was low cost, which may facilitate future implementation. However, further research is needed to evaluate the effectiveness for improving health outcomes, adoption, and implementation enablers and barriers for health professionals and strategies for long-term program maintenance.This research was supported by the National Breast Cancer Foundation’s “Register4 Research for Cancer” registry through its members’ participation in research. We sincerely thank all consumer representatives who co-designed the original EMPOWER-SMS program, including Molly Hayes, Fiona Neill, and Christine Mitchell, and study participants for their valuable feedback. We also thank Kane Williams for his legal expertise in delivering this program nationwide and Caroline Wu for her research managerial support throughout the project. Finally, we thank the team at the Westmead Breast Cancer Institute for their ongoing support and involvement in this project and to all individuals and Breast Cancer Organizations who helped us recruit participants, including Rodney Ritchie, Leigh Ridden, Professor John Boyages, Breast Cancer Network Australia, McGrath Foundation, Cancer Council NSW, Pink Sari Inc, the Sydney Survivorship Centre, Breast Cancer Support Group Byron Bay, Sutherland Shire Breast Cancer Support Group, Breast and ALL Women’s cancer care (Gold Coast), Cancer Action Victoria, NT Breast Cancer Voice, and Young Pink Sisters. ACS’s stipend was provided by the University of Sydney’s Australian Government Research Training Program Scholarship and a Supplementary Postgraduate Research Scholarship in Breast Cancer. SRP was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Early Career Fellowship (APP1157438) and National Heart Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship (HF102164). KH was supported by an NHMRC Investigator Grant (Emerging leadership 1) (APP1196724). JR was supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Career Investigator Grant Fellowship (GNT2007946).Authors' Contributions: ACS, RR, JR, SRP, and EE contributed to the study conception and design. ACS, RR, MH, KAS, EE, SRP, and JR contributed to the intervention development. ACS and RR supported participant recruitment and data collection. ACS, RR, and KKH contributed to the analyses of the results. ACS and RR equally contributed to the first draft of the manuscript. All authors edited and approved the submitted version of the manuscript and are personally accountable for its accuracy and integrity.Conflicts of Interest: None declared.TIDieR (Template for Intervention Description and Replication) checklist.Example SMS text messages.