Texting survey to be used for bacteria study

When used to call, send text messages, check e-mail, listen to music and play games, cell phones are valuable electronics people don’t leave home without.

Now, via text messaging, cell phones can also help researchers collect information in a fast, direct manner.

The Human Microbiome Demonstration Project was given a $4.15 million research grant to start a series of projects around the country that investigate bacteria which lives on the skin and in the mouth and gastrointestinal tract, as well as other places.

Part of the grant will be used by the IU School of Medicine to research the bacteria found in the urethra of teenage boys.

Headed by Dr. Dennis Fortenberry, professor of pediatrics in the Division of Adolescent Medicine, the team of researchers will use text-message surverys as a way to collect behavior information such as whether the boys are sick, taking antibiotics, or sexually active. 

“We are trying to understand all the microorganisms that live in the urethra, and we think by doing this we will have a better understanding how they they get infections,” Fortenberry said.

About 72 boys between the ages of 14 and 17 are being recruited from one Indianapolis community, and those who agree to participate will enroll in the study this fall.

The participants are each given a cell phone with unlimited calls and texts available to them as long as they answer survey questions using their phones.

The phones are set up so all the survey information goes directly to a computer to ensure the participants’ privacy. 

Pediatrician and public health researcher Sarah Wiehe has found that cell phones are a great platform for people to enter survey responses.

“It was surprising to find that those who already have cell phones are interested in participating in the study,” Wiehe said.

Microbiologist David Nelson said it was thought that the urethra in men was sterile, but has recently been found it contains bacteria that could either be helpful or harmful to men.

Alterations in the bacteria can be caused by disease; and by analyzing the data from the study, preventative measures can be taken to cure the disease or prevent it from being passed to other people.

“There are a lot of infectious diseases in women that we don’t know where they come from, but we suspect they come from men,” Nelson said.

That data collected over a span of four years will help researchers understand how microorganisms in the urethra hurt or help men.

“We will have a lot better idea about why some men are more susceptible to some infections such as STDs and HIV,” Fortenberry said, “but we also want to know something very basic – what’s normal and what’s not.”