Use of Text Messaging and Facebook Groups to Support the Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 Healthy Lifestyle Intervention for American Indian Families

Emily J Tomayko, Eliza J Webber, Kate A Cronin, Ronald J Prince, Alexandra K Adams, Emily J Tomayko, Eliza J Webber, Kate A Cronin, Ronald J Prince, Alexandra K Adams

Abstract

Background: Few obesity interventions have been developed for American Indian (AI) families despite the disproportionate risk of obesity experienced within AI communities. The emergence of mobile technologies to enhance intervention delivery could particularly benefit AI communities, many of which are hard to reach and underserved.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the use and perceptions of text messaging and Facebook to support delivery of the Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 (HCSF2) mailed healthy lifestyle/obesity prevention intervention and discuss lessons learned regarding intervention support via these platforms among AI participants.

Methods: From among AI families with young children (ages 2-5 y), 450 adult-child dyads were recruited from 5 rural and urban communities for a year-long intervention. Intervention content was delivered by mail and supported by text messaging and optional Facebook groups. Participants provided feedback on text message and Facebook components post-intervention, and Facebook analytic data were tracked.

Results: Self-report feedback indicated high satisfaction with both text messaging and Facebook, with tangible content (e.g., recipes, physical activity ideas) cited as most useful. Overall, participants reported higher satisfaction with and perceived efficacy of Facebook content compared with text messaging. Analytic data indicate the optional HCSF2 Facebook groups were joined by 67.8% of adult participants. Among those who joined, 78.4% viewed, 50.8% "liked," and 22.6% commented on ≥1 post. Engagement levels differed by urban-rural status, with more urban participants "liking" (P = 0.01) and commenting on posts (P = 0.01). Of note, nearly one-third of participants reported changing phone numbers during the intervention.

Conclusions: This study demonstrates high satisfaction regarding mobile delivery of HCSF2 intervention support components. Best practices and challenges in utilizing different mobile technologies to promote wellness among AI families are discussed, with particular focus on urban-rural differences. Future mobile-based interventions should consider the context of unstable technology maintenance, especially in low-resource communities.This work is part of the HCSF2 trial, which is registered at clinicaltrials.gov (NCT01776255).

Keywords: American Indian; Facebook; communication; family-based intervention; health promotion; obesity prevention; social media; text messaging.

Copyright © The Author(s) on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition 2020.

References

    1. Hutchinson RN, Shin S. Systematic review of health disparities for cardiovascular diseases and associated factors among American Indian and Alaska Native populations. PLoS One. 2014;9(1):e80973.
    1. Bullock A, Sheff K, Moore K, Manson S. Obesity and overweight in American Indian and Alaska Native children, 2006–2015. Am J Public Health. 2017;107(9):1502–7.
    1. Subica AM, Agarwal N, Sullivan JG, Link BG. Obesity and associated health disparities among understudied multiracial, Pacific Islander, and American Indian adults. Obesity. 2017;25(12):2128–36.
    1. Skinner AC, Ravanbakht SN, Skelton JA, Perrin EM, Armstrong SC. Prevalence of obesity and severe obesity in US children, 1999–2016. Pediatrics. 2018;141(3):e20173459.
    1. Laws R, Campbell KJ, Van Der Pligt P, Russell G, Ball K, Lynch J, Crawford D, Taylor R, Askew D, Denney-Wilson E. The impact of interventions to prevent obesity or improve obesity related behaviours in children (0–5 years) from socioeconomically disadvantaged and/or indigenous families: a systematic review. BMC Public Health. 2014;14(1):779.
    1. Newport F. The new era of communication among Americans. [Internet]. Gallup; 2014; [cited January 2020]. Available from: .
    1. Hall AK, Cole-Lewis H, Bernhardt JM. Mobile text messaging for health: a systematic review of reviews. Annu Rev Public Health. 2015;36:393–415.
    1. Brown B, Harris K, Dybdal L, Malich J, Bodnar B, Hall E. Feasibility of text messaging to promote child health in a rural community on an American Indian reservation. Health Educ J. 2019:78:557–69.
    1. Voguels E. Millennials stand out for their technology use, but older generations also embrace digital life. [Internet]. Pew Research Center; 2019; [cited January 2020]. Available from: .
    1. Welch V, Petkovic J, Pardo JP, Rader T, Tugwell P. Interactive social media interventions to promote health equity: an overview of reviews. Health Promot Chronic Dis Prev Can. 2016;36(4):63.
    1. Anderson-Lewis C, Darville G, Mercado RE, Howell S, Di Maggio S. mHealth technology use and implications in historically underserved and minority populations in the United States: systematic literature review. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. [Internet] 2018;6(6):e128. doi:10.2196/mhealth.8383.
    1. Eberhardt MS, Pamuk ER. The importance of place of residence: examining health in rural and nonrural areas. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(10):1682–6.
    1. Hartley D. Rural health disparities, population health, and rural culture. Am J Public Health. 2004;94(10):1675–8.
    1. Stenberg P. Rural Individuals’ telehealth practices: an overview. USDA Economic Research Service Economic Information Bulletin; 2018:; number 199.
    1. Kahn F, Driessen J. Bridging the telemedicine infrastructure gap: implications for long-term care in rural America. Public Policy Aging Rep. 2018;28(3):80–4.
    1. Tomayko EJ, Prince RJ, Cronin KA, Parker T, Kim K, Grant VM, Sheche JN, Adams AK. Healthy Children, Strong Families 2: a randomized controlled trial of a healthy lifestyle intervention for American Indian families designed using community-based approaches. Clinical Trials. 2017;14(2):152–61.
    1. Adams AK, LaRowe TL, Cronin KA, Prince RJ, Wubben DP, Parker T, Jobe JB. The Healthy Children, Strong Families intervention: design and community participation. J Primary Prevent. 2012;33(4):175–85.
    1. Adams AK, Tomayko EJ, Cronin KA, Prince RJ, Kim K, Carmichael L, Parker T. Predictors of overweight and obesity in American Indian families with young children. J Nutr Educ Behav. 2019;51(2):190–8.
    1. Tomayko EJ, Mosso KL, Cronin KA, Carmichael L, Kim K, Parker T, Yaroch AL, Adams AK. Household food insecurity and dietary patterns in rural and urban American Indian families with young children. BMC Public Health. 2017;17(1):611.
    1. Tomayko EJ, Prince RJ, Cronin KA, Kim K, Parker T, Adams AK. The Healthy Children, Strong Families 2 randomized controlled trial improved healthy behaviors in American Indian families with young children. Curr Dev Nutr. 2018;3(Suppl 2):53–62.
    1. Parkhurst ND, Morris T, Tahy E, Mossberger K. The digital reality: E-government and access to technology and internet for American Indian and Alaska native populations. In: Proceedings of the 16th Annual International Conference on Digital Government Research, Phoenix, AZ, May 27–30, 2015. p. 217–9. Association for Computing Machinery; International Conference Proceeding Series.
    1. Mathieson K, Leafman JS, Horton MB. Access to digital communication technology and perceptions of telemedicine for patient education among American Indian patients with diabetes. J Health Care Poor Underserved. 2017;28(4):1522–36.
    1. Carroll M, Horton MB. Telehealth and Indian healthcare: moving to scale and sustainability. Telemed J E Health. 2013;19(5):377–9.
    1. Sandberg JC, Johnson CRS, Nguyen HT, Talton JW, Quandt SA, Chen H, Summers P, Arcury TA. Mobile and traditional modes of communication among male Latino farmworkers: implications for health communication and dissemination. J Immigrant Minority Health. 2016;18(3):522–31.
    1. Rhoades H, Wenzel SL, Rice E, Winetrobe H, Henwood B. No digital divide? Technology use among homeless adults. J Soc Distress Homeless. 2017;26(1):73–7.
    1. Gonzales AL, Ems L, Suri VR. Cell phone disconnection disrupts access to healthcare and health resources: a technology maintenance perspective. New Media Soc. 2016;18(8):1422–38.
    1. Parker K, Menasce-Horowitz J, Brown A, Fry R, Cohn DV, Igielnik R. What unites and divides urban, suburban and rural communities. [Internet]. Pew Research Centre; 2018; [cited January 2020]. Available from: .
    1. Edney S, Looyestyn J, Ryan J, Kernot J, Maher C. Posts, pics, or polls? Which post type generates the greatest engagement in a Facebook physical activity intervention?. Translational Behavioral Medicine. 2018;8(6):953–57.
    1. Downing KL, Campbell KJ, van der Pligt P, Hesketh KD. Facilitator and participant use of Facebook in a community-based intervention for parents: the InFANT Extend Program. Child Obes. 2017;13(6):443–54.

Source: PubMed

Szponzorok és közreműködők

Egészségi állapot

Kábítószer-beavatkozások

3
Iratkozz fel