Mobile Health Coping Intervention for Mothers Experiencing Food Insecurity

A Mobile Health Coping Intervention for Mothers Experiencing Food Insecurity: a CBT-informed Pilot Study

This is a pilot study testing a mobile app that is designed to help mothers experiencing food insecurity manage stress and build coping skills. Participants will use the app for 8 weeks and complete surveys about their experiences, mental health, and coping. The study will help us learn whether the app is helpful and feasible for future research.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Food Insecurity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: MOMent

Detailed Description

This is a single-arm pilot study enrolling mothers experiencing food insecurity. Because this is a pilot feasibility study, no comparison group is included. Eligible participants will complete baseline assessments before beginning the intervention, including measures of food security, mental health symptoms, coping strategies, and related psychosocial factors. Participants will then complete an eight-week fully mHealth-based intervention using the Univeristy of Oklahoma Insight mHealth mobile application.

Throughout the intervention, participants will receive 3 daily messages focused on building coping skills, managing stress, and supporting mental well-being. The app includes educational modules, goal-setting activities, coping exercises, daily check-ins, and supportive messages. Participants will engage with the app at their own pace and will receive brief assessments and messages throughout the intervention period.

After completing the eight-week intervention, participants will complete post-intervention assessments to evaluate changes in mental health, coping, and intervention acceptability and feasibility. A subset of participants will also be invited to complete a follow-up interview to provide feedback on their experiences using the app, including facilitators and barriers to engagement.

This pilot study will provide preliminary information on the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of a cognitive behavioral therapy-informed mHealth intervention to support mental health among mothers experiencing food insecurity.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 30
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Rachel Liebe; Phone Number: 405-744-5043; Email: rachel.liebe@okstate.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Oklahoma
    • Stillwater, Oklahoma, United States, 74078
      • Recruiting
      • Oklahoma State University
      • Contact: Rachel Liebe; Phone Number: 405-744-5043; Email: rachel.liebe@okstate.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Reside in Oklahoma
• Identify as a woman or non-binary
• At least 18 years old
• Have a child under 18 years old living in your household
• Experienced food insecurity in the past 30 days

Exclusion Criteria:

• Currently undergoing mental health counseling
• No access to a smartphone (Apple or Android)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: mHealth app; Mobile phone-delivered content focused on building coping skills, managing stress, and supporting mental well-being among mothers experiencing food insecurity.	Behavioral: MOMent; An 8-week behavioral intervention delivered through a mobile application that combines multiple behavior change techniques, including coping education, self-monitoring, goal setting, and skill-building reflections The intervention is designed to help participants develop and practice coping strategies to manage stress and improve mental well-being.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Recruitment feasibility	Percentage (%) of eligible individuals who enroll in the study among all individuals determined eligible through the screening survey. Higher percentages indicate greater recruitment feasibility.	Evaluated throughout recruitment and at completion of the recruitment period
Intervention retention	Percentage (%) of enrolled participants who complete the post-intervention assessment. Higher percentages indicate greater retention.	Measured from enrollment through completion of post-intervention data collection (8 weeks)
App Engagement	Intervention engagement assessed using Insight application analytics, including number of intervention messages opened, number of weekly goal-setting activities completed, and interactions with intervention content. Greater values indicate higher engagement.	Measured throughout the 8-week intervention period
Usability	Systems Usability Scale (SUS) total score (range 0-100). Higher scores indicate greater usability; scores >68 indicate above-average usability.	Measured at post-intervention (8 weeks)
Participant Acceptability	Program satisfaction assessed using investigator-developed 5-point Likert-scale items evaluating intervention acceptability. Mean scores range from 1-5, with higher scores indicate greater acceptability.	Measured at post-intervention (8 weeks)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Food Security Status	USDA 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) raw score assessing household, adult, and child food security over the previous 30 days. Scores range from 0-18, with higher scores indicate greater food insecurity.	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Cognitive Functioning	Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Cognitive Function Short Form and PROMIS Cognitive Function Abilities Short Form 6a T-scores assessing perceived cognitive functioning. T scores have an average of 50, and 10 is one standard deviation. Higher scores indicate better cognitive functioning.	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Anxiety Symptoms	Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) total score (range 0-21). Higher scores indicate greater anxiety symptom severity.	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Depressive Symptoms	Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) total score (range 0-27). Higher scores indicate greater depressive symptom severity.	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Coping Behaviors	Brief Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced Inventory (Brief COPE) questionnaire scores assessing coping quantity and coping style. Scores are calculated according to the Brief COPE scoring protocol; higher scores indicate greater use of each coping strategy. Mean scores range from 1 to 4.	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Diet Quality	Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) score are the output from the National Cancer Institute Diet History Questionnaire III (DHQ III) survey. Higher scores indicate better overall diet quality (score range: 0-100).	Measured at baseline and post intervention (8 weeks)
Food resource management	A subset of problem-focused coping, food resource management, will be assessed with an adapted version of items from the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) questionnaire. Scores range from Never (0) to Always (5), with higher mean scores indicating more food resource management behaviors.	Measured at baseline and post-intervention (8 weeks).

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Oklahoma State University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 20, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): November 1, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 15, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 22, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 22, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 17, 2026
• Last Verified: July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Depression; Mental Health; Anxiety; Stress, Psychological; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Food Insecurity; Mothers; Mobile Applications
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Personal Satisfaction; Anxiety Disorders; Depression; Stress, Psychological; Psychological Well-Being
• Other Study ID Numbers: IRB-26-160

Drug and device information, study documents

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