NCT01551108

Parent-targeted Mobile Phone Based Intervention to Increase Physical Activity in Children (P-Mobile)

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 27 (actual)
• Sponsor: Pennington Biomedical Research Center · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 6 Years – 10 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

This study is designed to determine if parents can deliver an intervention that will help increase physical activity in their children. The parents will be given the intervention through their mobile phones.

Detailed description

Most children engage in insufficient amounts of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. These low levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity are associated with adverse health consequences including increased risk for obesity, and cardiovascular and diabetes risk factors. Therefore, there is a need for studies that can increase physical activity levels in children. Mobile phones are a way to deliver behavioral interventions. Mobile phones are portable, allow for real-time data collection, and can potentially reach large numbers of people. Text messages can also be utilized to promote behavior change. Few mobile phone based interventions have specifically targeted child physical activity. The aims of this pilot study were to determine the feasibility and efficacy of a physical activity promotion program targeting 6-10 year old children that is delivered to parents through mobile phones.

Conditions

• Physical Activity

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Intervention: limited behavioral strategies	Parents are given access to a website, formatted for a mobile phone. The website provides parents with a target steps/day goal for their child and parents are instructed to use their mobile phone to access the study website to record their child's step count each night. Parents are also sent monthly healthy nutrition tips via text message targeting the child in order to provide these families with potentially health promoting information.
BEHAVIORAL	Intervention: advanced behavioral strategies	Parents are given access to a website, formatted for a mobile phone. The website provides parents with a target steps/day goal for their child and parents are instructed to use their mobile phone to access the study website to record their child's step count each night. Parents also receive additional behavioral strategies based on the Social Cognitive Theory. The strategies are delivered through weekly articles posted on the website. Text messages are designed to prompt parents to encourage their child's physical activity, remind parents of behavioral concepts presented in the articles (article tip), and motivate parents to foster behavioral change in their child.

Timeline

• Start date: 2012-03-01
• Primary completion: 2013-08-01
• Completion: 2013-08-01
• First posted: 2012-03-12
• Last updated: 2016-05-03

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States