Mixed Methods Feasibility Study of an App for Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management

Acceptability and Usability of a Mobile Health App for Family Obesity Prevention and Management: A Mixed-methods Feasibility Study

This evaluation evaluated Health Education England's NoObesity digital health app's usability and acceptability to undertake activities improving families' diet, physical activity and weight. The purpose of the study is to evaluate the app's influence on self-efficacy and goal setting and to determine what can be learned to improve its design for future studies, should there be evidence of adoption and sustainability.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Child Obesity
• Intervention / Treatment: Device: NoObesity app

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 231
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Devon
    • Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom, PL4 6DN
      • University of Plymouth

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (ADULT, OLDER_ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• adult users (over 18 years)
• fluent in English
• willing to use the app
• parents or legal guardians of a child or children OR health care professionals linked to the parent or guardian
• owner of a smartphone to access the app, with 4G data access

Exclusion Criteria:

• individuals who are known to the researchers or staff at Health Education England
• deaf or hearing impairment
• prior use of the app before study commencement
• refusal to give informed consent
• children, vulnerable young people, or vulnerable adults.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: OTHER
• Allocation: NA
• Interventional Model: SINGLE_GROUP
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
EXPERIMENTAL: Using the NoObesity app; A mobile digital app ("NoObesity") that enables families to set goals, track progress, play games, and access additional information and healthcare professionals to access training and monitor patients' progress.	Device: NoObesity app; The NoObesity system consists of two linked apps - the NoObesity Family app and the NoObesity Professional app.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
User experiences and acceptability of the NoObesity app	Measured qualitatively through semi-structured interviews to examine what participants liked, disliked, and what they thought could be improved	6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Usability of the NoObesity app	Measured using the System Usability Scale (minimum of 0, maximum of 100, higher scores indicate better usability)	6 months
Qualitative user perspectives of usability	Qualitative feedback from semi-structured interviews	6 months
Perceived impact of app on motivation	Qualitative feedback from semi-structured interviews	6 months
Perceived impact of specific app features on motivation	Measured quantitatively on self-report final survey	6 months
Perceived impact of app on health behaviours	Qualitative feedback from semi-structured interviews	6 months
Self-reported impact of the app on health behaviours	Measured quantitatively on self-report final survey	6 months
Perceived impact of app on self-efficacy	Measured quantitatively by assessing users' confidence in their ability to achieve goals in the app and in the final survey	6 months
Engagement with the app	Measured using app use data (first and last logins) and self-reported engagement with the app	6 months
Factors relating to adoption, implementation, and sustainability	Measured qualitatively in semi-structured interviews with participants and representatives from Health Education England	6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Plymouth
• Collaborators: Health Education England
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Edward Meinert, PhD, University of Plymouth

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Meinert E, Rahman E, Potter A, Lawrence W, Van Velthoven M. Acceptability and Usability of the Mobile Digital Health App NoObesity for Families and Health Care Professionals: Protocol for a Feasibility Study. JMIR Res Protoc. 2020 Jul 22;9(7):e18068. doi: 10.2196/18068.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (ACTUAL): June 27, 2020
• Primary Completion (ACTUAL): April 28, 2021
• Study Completion (ACTUAL): August 23, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: February 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2022
• First Posted (ACTUAL): March 2, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (ACTUAL): March 2, 2022
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 18, 2022
• Last Verified: February 1, 2022

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: digital health; mobile applications; behavior change; child obesity
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Overweight; Body Weight; Obesity; Pediatric Obesity
• Other Study ID Numbers: R62092/RE001

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No