TEEN HEED: An Adolescent Diabetes Prevention Intervention Incorporating Novel Mobile Health Technologies
Condition: Type 2 Diabetes
MeSH terms: Diabetes Mellitus
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The number of youth with type 2 diabetes in the U.S. is projected to increase by a staggering
      49 percent by 2050, with higher rates among minority youth. The Diabetes Prevention Program
      (DPP) is recognized as a sentinel study demonstrating the effectiveness of lifestyle
      interventions for diabetes prevention among pre-diabetic adults but has not yet been
      replicated in youth. In addition, such intensive interventions are often not sustainable in
      high risk communities with limited resources. One strategy that has been successfully
      employed in adults from such communities is peer based health education. However, there have
      been no peer led interventions in ethnic minority teens and no interventions focused
      specifically on weight loss for diabetes prevention. Another challenge identified in existing
      youth health intervention programs is keeping youth engaged to enhance program participation
      and impact. One potential strategy is the use of mobile technologies (text messaging, mobile
      applications, social media) to support weight management programs, but to date use of such
      technologies has largely not been studied in youth. The Principal Investigator's NIH Mentored
      Patient-Oriented Research Career Development Award (K23) aimed to use CBPR to develop and
      pilot test a peer-led diabetes prevention intervention incorporating mobile health
      technologies for at-risk adolescents. Based on results of focus groups which explored
      strategies for using peer educators and mHealth tools as part of a group lifestyle change
      program, the researchers did not find existing tools with all the features and
      functionalities required by users. The investigators therefore began working with teen
      stakeholders to create a new text messaging platform to support participants as the teens
      complete the intervention. This R03 research proposal aims to bring together clinical,
      technology and community experts to further develop and evaluate the mobile health platform.
      This will provide important pilot data to refine and disseminate the intervention for a
      larger RCT to be tested in a future R01.

      Specific Aims:

        1. Synthesize real-time data and analytics and conduct user interface (UI) testing to
           refine and enhance features of the prototype text messaging platform.

        2. Investigate the potential for the developed platform to be used as an adjunct to a group
           educational intervention by examining whether level of use, user satisfaction, and
           degree of engagement with the platforms modifies behavioral and clinical outcomes.
    


Intervention name(s): Text messaging; Virtual workshop
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): text messaging content to support diabetes prevention.; virtual workshop content to support diabetes prevention.
Allocation: Non-Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Prevention