Location-based Smartphone Technology to Guide College Students Healthy Choices Ph II
Condition: Overweight and Obesity; Health Behavior; Sleep Deprivation
MeSH terms: Sleep Deprivation; Overweight
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      College students are in a newly independent phase of life; many of whom encounter unhealthy
      dietary decision- making, barriers to physical activity, and poor sleep behaviors. Healthy
      Detours is a location-based smartphone application tailored in real-time to a student's
      schedule and locale, and aims to guide students toward healthier eating, exercise, and
      lifestyle choices as a way to prevent the onset of damaging and costly health outcomes.
      Through a randomized control trial, this Phase II project will test the effectiveness of an
      evidence-based smartphone application that will provide students with on-demand,
      location-specific information about healthy lifestyle choices.
    

Detailed description: 
      Poor eating habits, sedentary behavior, and deficient sleep quality are problematic for many
      college students. Surrounded by numerous unhealthy food choices and physical activity
      barriers, students are vulnerable to overweight and chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart
      disease, and cancer. Today's college students are more technologically connected than
      previous generations positioning mobile devices as an ideal method for reaching this
      population with healthy lifestyle information. In a Phase I Small Business Innovation
      Research (SBIR), our team developed Healthy Detours, an innovative mobile phone application
      (app) designed to assist college students make healthier choices about food and physical
      activity on and around their college campus. Specifically, we (a) developed a comprehensive
      database to provide user-specific information through the use of location-based services
      (LBS) focused on healthy lifestyle choices; (b) conducted an online survey with a national
      sample of undergraduates which examined eating and physical activity preferences, interest in
      smartphone technology to monitor healthy lifestyle choices, and use of "check-ins" for health
      information; (c) conducted focus groups which demonstrated the prototype app's ability to
      provide the user with rudimentary aspects of the LBS database to facilitate real-time
      decision making for healthier choices; (d) conducted lab and field usability testing of the
      app for its accuracy in identifying user location and functionality; and (e) developed a
      specifications document to outline the Phase II development plan. The results of the Phase I
      activities provided strong support for this project in which we propose to develop an
      interactive, mobile app that is guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and Social
      Cognitive Theory (SCT). This project will produce a fully functional LBS smartphone app that
      will provide (1) immediate and relevant feedback at the point of decision-making to reinforce
      healthy lifestyle behaviors, (2) person- and location-specific tailored data, acquired
      through activity tracking, to provide users with necessary information to improve future
      decision-making, and (3) multiple health-tracking features that will aid in self-monitoring.
      Healthy Detours will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial (n=300) with students at a
      large 4-year university. Primary outcomes include changes in dietary intake, physical
      activity behavior, sleep quality, and quality of life. Overall, the proposed project has the
      potential to significantly impact college students' health and quality of life by providing
      them with real-time healthy choices. Healthy Detours is one of the first comprehensive
      wellness apps offered to college students, and provides an opportunity via the SBIR funding
      mechanism to reach a large number of students as evidenced by the commercialization plan.
    

Intervention name(s): Healthy Detours App; Fat Secret App
Intervention type(s): Other; Other
Intervention description(s): The app features:
Immediate and relevant feedback at the point of decision-making to reinforce healthy lifestyle behaviors within a population making crucial lifestyle choices.
User-centered and location-specific tailored information to provide users with information to improve future decision-making through activity tracking.
Multiple health-tracking features (i.e., diet and PA tracking, and accelerometry for PA and sleep) that will aid in self-monitoring.; Freely available app for weight loss and nutrition. Includes food and exercise diaries; calorie counting.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single (Investigator)
Primary purpose: Prevention
Keywords: college students; physical activity; sleep behaviors; diet