scholarly journals A Smartphone App to Promote Healthy Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy (HealthyMoms): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

10.2196/13011 ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. e13011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Henriksson ◽  
Johanna Sandborg ◽  
Marie Blomberg ◽  
Christina Alexandrou ◽  
Ralph Maddison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Diet And Physical Activity

scholarly journals A Smartphone App to Promote Healthy Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy (HealthyMoms): Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pontus Henriksson ◽  
Johanna Sandborg ◽  
Marie Blomberg ◽  
Christina Alexandrou ◽  
Ralph Maddison ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Gestational Weight Gain ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Diet And Physical Activity

BACKGROUND Excessive gestational weight gain is common and associated with adverse outcomes both in the short and long term. Although traditional lifestyle-based interventions have shown to mitigate excess gestational weight gain, little is known about whether mobile Health (mHealth) apps can promote healthy weight gain, diet, and physical activity during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE The primary aim of the HealthyMoms trial is to determine the effectiveness of a smartphone app (HealthyMoms) for mitigating excess gestational weight gain during pregnancy. Secondary aims are to determine the effectiveness of the app on dietary habits, physical activity, body fatness, and glycemia during pregnancy. METHODS HealthyMoms is a two-arm randomized controlled trial. Women are being recruited at routine visits at the maternity clinics in Linköping, Norrköping and Motala, Sweden. Women are randomized to the control or intervention group (n=150 per group). All women will receive standard care, and women in the intervention group will also receive the HealthyMoms smartphone app. RESULTS Recruitment of participants to the trial was initiated in October 2017, and 190 women have so far completed the baseline measurement. The baseline measures are estimated to be finalized in December 2019, and the follow-up measures are estimated to be completed in June 2020. CONCLUSIONS This project will evaluate a novel smartphone app intervention integrated with existing maternity health care. If successful, it has great potential to be implemented nationally in order to promote healthy weight gain and health behaviors during pregnancy. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPOR DERR1-10.2196/13011

scholarly journals Participants’ Engagement and Satisfaction With a Smartphone App Intended to Support Healthy Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy: Qualitative Study Within the HealthyMoms Trial

10.2196/26159 ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e26159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Sandborg ◽  
Pontus Henriksson ◽  
Erica Larsen ◽  
Anna-Karin Lindqvist ◽  
Stina Rutberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Healthy Habits

Background Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is common and associated with negative health outcomes for both mother and child. Mobile health–delivered lifestyle interventions offer the potential to mitigate excessive GWG. The effectiveness of a smartphone app (HealthyMoms) was recently evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. To explore the users’ experiences of using the app, a qualitative study within the HealthyMoms trial was performed. Objective This qualitative study explored participants’ engagement and satisfaction with the 6-month usage of the HealthyMoms app. Methods A total of 19 women (mean age: 31.7, SD 4.4 years; mean BMI: 24.6, SD 3.4 kg/m2; university degree attainment: 13/19, 68%; primiparous: 11/19, 58%) who received the HealthyMoms app in a randomized controlled trial completed semistructured exit interviews. The interviews were audiorecorded and fully transcribed, coded, and analyzed using thematic analysis with an inductive approach. Results Thematic analysis revealed a main theme and 2 subthemes. The main theme, “One could suit many: a multifunctional tool to strengthen women’s health during pregnancy,” and the 2 subthemes, “Factors within and beyond the app influence app engagement” and “Trust, knowledge, and awareness: aspects that can motivate healthy habits,” illustrated that a trustworthy and appreciated health and pregnancy app that is easy to use can inspire a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. The first subtheme discussed how factors within the app (eg, regular updates and feedback) were perceived to motivate both healthy habits and app engagement. Additionally, factors beyond the app were described to both motivate (eg, interest, motivation, and curiosity) and limit (eg, pregnancy-related complications, lack of time) app engagement. The second subtheme reflected important aspects, such as high trustworthiness of the app, increased knowledge, and awareness from using the app, which motivated participants to improve or maintain healthy habits during pregnancy. Conclusions The HealthyMoms app was considered a valuable and trustworthy tool to mitigate excessive GWG, with useful features and relevant information to initiate and maintain healthy habits during pregnancy. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03298555; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03298555 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID) RR2-10.2196/13011

scholarly journals Participants’ Engagement and Satisfaction With a Smartphone App Intended to Support Healthy Weight Gain, Diet, and Physical Activity During Pregnancy: Qualitative Study Within the HealthyMoms Trial (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Sandborg ◽  
Pontus Henriksson ◽  
Erica Larsen ◽  
Anna-Karin Lindqvist ◽  
Stina Rutberg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Thematic Analysis ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Main Theme ◽  
Healthy Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Healthy Habits

BACKGROUND Excessive gestational weight gain (GWG) is common and associated with negative health outcomes for both mother and child. Mobile health–delivered lifestyle interventions offer the potential to mitigate excessive GWG. The effectiveness of a smartphone app (HealthyMoms) was recently evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. To explore the users’ experiences of using the app, a qualitative study within the HealthyMoms trial was performed. OBJECTIVE This qualitative study explored participants’ engagement and satisfaction with the 6-month usage of the HealthyMoms app. METHODS A total of 19 women (mean age: 31.7, SD 4.4 years; mean BMI: 24.6, SD 3.4 kg/m<sup>2</sup>; university degree attainment: 13/19, 68%; primiparous: 11/19, 58%) who received the HealthyMoms app in a randomized controlled trial completed semistructured exit interviews. The interviews were audiorecorded and fully transcribed, coded, and analyzed using thematic analysis with an inductive approach. RESULTS Thematic analysis revealed a main theme and 2 subthemes. The main theme, “One could suit many: a multifunctional tool to strengthen women’s health during pregnancy,” and the 2 subthemes, “Factors within and beyond the app influence app engagement” and “Trust, knowledge, and awareness: aspects that can motivate healthy habits,” illustrated that a trustworthy and appreciated health and pregnancy app that is easy to use can inspire a healthy lifestyle during pregnancy. The first subtheme discussed how factors within the app (eg, regular updates and feedback) were perceived to motivate both healthy habits and app engagement. Additionally, factors beyond the app were described to both motivate (eg, interest, motivation, and curiosity) and limit (eg, pregnancy-related complications, lack of time) app engagement. The second subtheme reflected important aspects, such as high trustworthiness of the app, increased knowledge, and awareness from using the app, which motivated participants to improve or maintain healthy habits during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS The HealthyMoms app was considered a valuable and trustworthy tool to mitigate excessive GWG, with useful features and relevant information to initiate and maintain healthy habits during pregnancy. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03298555; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03298555 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.2196/13011

scholarly journals User Perception of a Smartphone App to Promote Physical Activity Through Active Transportation: Inductive Qualitative Content Analysis Within the Smart City Active Mobile Phone Intervention (SCAMPI) Study (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna-Karin Lindqvist ◽  
Stina Rutberg ◽  
Emmie Söderström ◽  
Anna Ek ◽  
Christina Alexandrou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Smart City ◽  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Active Transportation ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Randomized Controlled

BACKGROUND Physical inactivity is globally recognized as a major risk factor for morbidity, particularly the incidence of noncommunicable diseases. Increasing physical activity (PA) is therefore a public health priority. Engaging in active transportation (AT) is a viable approach for promoting daily PA levels. Mobile health interventions enable the promotion of AT to a larger population. The Smart City Active Mobile Phone Intervention (SCAMPI) study was a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the ability of a behavior change program delivered via a smartphone app to motivate participants to increase their PA by engaging in AT. OBJECTIVE This qualitative study aims to examine the acceptance and user experience of the app promoting AT that was used in the SCAMPI trial (the TRavelVU Plus app). METHODS A total of 17 residents of Stockholm County (13 women; age range 25-61 years) who completed the 3-month app-based behavioral change program (delivered through the TRavelVU Plus app) in the SCAMPI randomized controlled trial during 2018 agreed to participate in a semistructured telephone-based interview. These participants were well representative of the whole intervention group (n=127) in terms of baseline characteristics such as age, sex, and area of residence. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using an inductive qualitative content analysis. RESULTS The content analysis revealed 2 themes and 4 subcategories. The first theme, “main motivators: monitoring and messages,” highlighted that monitoring AT and being able to set weekly goals using the app were the primary motivators reported by study participants. The second theme, “acceptable but modifiable,” reflects that the app was well accepted and effectively encouraged many participants to use more AT. Nevertheless, there were functions in the app that require modification. For example, while the semiautomated travel tracking feature was appreciated, participants found it time-consuming and unreliable at times. CONCLUSIONS This study contributes novel insight into adults’ experiences of using a mobile app to promote the use of AT. The results showed that the app was well accepted and that self-monitoring and goal setting were the main motivators to engage in more AT. The semiautomated tracking of AT was appreciated; however, it was also reported to be energy- and time-consuming when it failed to work. Thus, this feature should be improved going forward. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03086837; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03086837 INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT RR2-10.1186/s12889-018-5658-4

scholarly journals Individually Tailored, Adaptive Intervention to Manage Gestational Weight Gain: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial in Women With Overweight and Obesity (Preprint)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Symons Downs ◽  
Jennifer S Savage ◽  
Daniel E Rivera ◽  
Joshua M Smyth ◽  
Barbara J Rolls ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Overweight And Obesity ◽  
Adaptive Intervention ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled

BACKGROUND High gestational weight gain is a major public health concern as it independently predicts adverse maternal and infant outcomes. Past interventions have had only limited success in effectively managing pregnancy weight gain, especially among women with overweight and obesity. Well-designed interventions are needed that take an individualized approach and target unique barriers to promote healthy weight gain. OBJECTIVE The primary aim of the study is to describe the study protocol for Healthy Mom Zone, an individually tailored, adaptive intervention for managing weight in pregnant women with overweight and obesity. METHODS The Healthy Mom Zone Intervention, based on theories of planned behavior and self-regulation and a model of energy balance, includes components (eg, education, self-monitoring, physical activity/healthy eating behaviors) that are adapted over the intervention (ie, increase in intensity) to better regulate weight gain. Decision rules inform when to adapt the intervention. In this randomized controlled trial, women are randomized to the intervention or standard care control group. The intervention is delivered from approximately 8-36 weeks gestation and includes step-ups in dosages (ie, Step-up 1 = education + physical activity + healthy eating active learning [cooking/recipes]; Step-up 2 = Step-up 1 + portion size, physical activity; Step-up 3 = Step-up 1 + 2 + grocery store feedback, physical activity); 5 maximum adaptations. Study measures are obtained at pre- and postintervention as well as daily (eg, weight), weekly (eg, energy intake/expenditure), and monthly (eg, psychological) over the study period. Analyses will include linear mixed-effects models, generalized estimating equations, and dynamical modeling to understand between-group and within-individual effects of the intervention on weight gain. RESULTS Recruitment of 31 pregnant women with overweight and obesity has occurred from January 2016 through July 2017. Baseline data have been collected for all participants. To date, 24 participants have completed the intervention and postintervention follow-up assessments, 3 are currently in progress, 1 dropped out, and 3 women had early miscarriages and are no longer active in the study. Of the 24 participants, 13 women have completed the intervention to date, of which 1 (8%, 1/13) received only the baseline intervention, 3 (23%, 3/13) received baseline + step-up 1, 6 (46%, 6/13) received baseline + step-up 1 + step-up 2, and 3 (23%, 3/13) received baseline + step-up 1 + step-up 2 +step-up 3. Data analysis is still ongoing through spring 2018. CONCLUSIONS This is one of the first intervention studies to use an individually tailored, adaptive design to manage weight gain in pregnancy. Results from this study will be useful in designing a larger randomized trial to examine efficacy of this intervention and developing strategies for clinical application. REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER RR1-10.2196/9220

scholarly journals Optimizing Gestational Weight Gain With the Eating4Two Smartphone App: Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deborah Davis ◽  
Rachel Davey ◽  
Lauren T. Williams ◽  
Maralyn Foureur ◽  
Ellen Nohr ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Weight Gain ◽  
Gestational Weight Gain ◽  
Maternity Care ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Smartphone App ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Gestational Weight ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
In Pregnancy

BACKGROUND Approximately 50% of women gain excessive weight in pregnancy. Optimizing gestational weight gain is important for the short- and long-term health of the childbearing woman and her baby. Despite this, there is no recommendation for routine weighing in pregnancy, and weight is a topic that many maternity care providers avoid. Resource-intensive interventions have mainly targeted overweight and obese women with variable results. Few studies have examined the way that socioeconomic status might influence the effectiveness or acceptability of an intervention to participants. Given the scale of the problem of maternal weight gain, maternity services will be unlikely to sustain resource intensive interventions; therefore, innovative strategies are required to assist women to manage weight gain in pregnancy. OBJECTIVE The primary aim of the trial was to examine the effectiveness of the Eating4Two smartphone app in assisting women of all body mass index categories to optimize gestational weight gain. Secondary aims include comparing childbirth outcomes and satisfaction with antenatal care and examining the way that relative advantage and disadvantage might influence engagement with and acceptability of the intervention. METHODS This randomized controlled trial will randomize 1330 women to control or intervention groups in 3 regions of different socioeconomic status. Women will be recruited from clinical and social media sites. The intervention group will be provided with access to the Eating4Two mobile phone app which provides nutrition and dietary information specifically tailored for pregnancy, advice on food serving sizes, and a graph that illustrates women’s weight change in relation to the range recommended by the Institute of Medicine. Women will be encouraged to use the app to prompt conversations with their maternity care providers about weight gain in pregnancy. The control group will receive routine antenatal care. RESULTS Recruitment has commenced though the recruitment rate is slower than expected. Additional funds are required to employ research assistants and promote the study in an advertising campaign. CONCLUSION Feasibility testing highlighted the inadequacy of the original recruitment strategy and the need to provide the app in both major platforms (Android and iOS). Smartphone technologies may offer an effective alternative to resource intensive strategies for assisting women to optimize weight gain in pregnancy. CLINICALTRIAL Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000169347; https://www.anzctr.org.au/Trial/Registration/TrialReview.aspx?id=371470 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org /6zDvgw5bo) REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER RR1-10.2196/9920

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