Evaluation of a 5-a-day Fruit and Vegetable Mobile Phone Application

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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This is a randomized controlled trial to assess the impact of a novel fruit and vegetable mobile phone application on fruit and vegetable intakes, knowledge and attitudes.

Detailed Description
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The 5-a-day fruit and vegetable (FV) message from the WHO recommends consumption of five 80g portions of different FV per day for health reasons. Recent research suggests that the details of the message are poorly understood by the population as a whole, by low consumers of FV and by those in demographic groups of traditional low FV consumption, and that this poor knowledge impacts on implementation of the message to result in low FV intakes. To aid implementation of the recommendations, investigators have developed a 5-a-day FV mobile phone application (app) prototype. The basic prototype app will provide information on the 5-a-day message, allow users to input consumption, and provides consumers with accurate knowledge of their adherence to the recommendations. This study will investigate the use and impact of the prototype app on FV intakes over a two or four week period. For significant impacts on health, sustained user engagement and use will be required. Up to 100 participants will be randomised to either receive or not receive the app, and will be asked to use the app for the following two or four weeks. FV intake will be assessed at baseline, 2 weeks, 4 weeks. Measures of app use will also be taken at these time points. Measures of FV knowledge will also be measured at these time points. Measures of FV attitudes were initially planned but not undertaken to reduce demand characteristics for participants. The investigators anticipate that changes in intakes will be mediated by changes in knowledge and attitudes.

Official Title
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Evaluation of a 5-a-day Fruit and Vegetable Mobile Phone Application

Conditions
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Nutritional Status, Nutrition Assessment

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: able to provide informed consent speaks English, owns an android mobile telephone able and willing to use phone and complete all measures Exclusion Criteria: none

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Single


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention for two weeks<br>Receipt of the mobile phone application for two weeks | Behavioral: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application<br>* 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application<br>|
| No Intervention: Control for two weeks<br>Usual habitual activity - no receipt of mobile phone application for two weeks | |
| Experimental: Intervention for four weeks<br>Receipt of the mobile phone application for four weeks | Behavioral: 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application<br>* 5-a-day fruit and vegetable mobile phone application<br>|
| No Intervention: Control for four weeks<br>Usual habitual activity - no receipt of mobile phone application for two weeks | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fruit and Vegetable Intakes (Self-report, Questionnaire Assessment) | Self-report, questionnaire assessment | Intervention end | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Fruit and Vegetable Knowledge (Questionnaire Assessment) | FV knowledge will be assessed by the FV knowledge questionnaire published in Appleton et al. J Hum Nutr Diet, 2018;31:121-130. The questionnaire assessed four aspects of FV knowledge in relation to the UK 5-a-day recommendations. The portion sizes subscale is provided, where positive scores are given for correct responses, and negative scores for incorrect responses. Min. max scores are -27, 27. Higher scores show greater knowledge. | Intervention end | 
| App Usage | Number of days on which users interacted with the app. | Intervention end | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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food intake, fruit and vegetables, knowledge