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Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the Health Science Center, the team behind SaludToday, was awarded a $1.4 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas.
She was among several researchers were among those awarded $7.6 million to prevent cancer this week.
Ramirez will develop bilingual, relevant social and mobile messages and channels to recruit young adult smokers to sign up for a text-message-based tobacco cessation service.
“Smoking is a problem among young adults in South Texas, but there are no relevant programs that utilize heavy usage of social media and texting to help them quit,” Ramirez said. “If our project goes as planned, it will increase young adults’ use of tobacco cessation services, and provide a model service that can be cost-effectively replicated across Texas.”
Two other IHPR researchers, Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos and Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, received a $150,000 grant.
Their project will increase HPV immunization rates using public education and clinic in-reach strategies among young adults in Hidalgo County clinics.
“This program has the potential to reduce cervical cancer incidence and mortality among people in Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley,” Morales-Campos said.
Update: Learn more about the results of Dr. Ramirez’s grant, the Quitxt program! Quitxt is a free text-messaging program that sends tips, support, and motivational videos on your phone to help you stop smoking, from researchers at UT Health San Antonio.
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