“It Made Me Feel Connected”—An Exploratory Study on the Use of Mobile SMS in Follow-Up Care for Substance Abusers

The experience of social support and closeness has traditionally been associated with face-to-face interaction. This article describes a study in which use of the mobile short message service (SMS) enabled patients to experience social support even when the supportive people were physically absent. The study was conducted in the follow-up care stage for people with co-occurring substance abuse and psychiatric illness, after the patients had moved back to their home municipality. The empirical basis for the discussion comprised qualitative interviews of eight staff members and eight patients who used mobile SMS as a communication tool in the relationship between staff member and patient in aftercare. Data from the interviews and SMS messages were analysed with an emphasis on the patients' experiences. The findings suggest that for some patients, the perception of the constant availability or the perceived presence of a supportive person (staff member) was important in several ways. Besides its theoretical contribution, the study addresses the expressed need for new approaches in the follow-up care stage for people who have been diagnosed with substance abuse disorders or/and psychiatric illness.