NCT06520072

Mobile Apps for Preschool Parents (MAPP) Study

• Status: Recruiting
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 1,200 (estimated)
• Sponsor: Pamela Hull · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 99 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

The purpose of Mobile Apps for Preschool Parents (MAPP) Study is to test the effectiveness of two mobile applications for parents of preschool aged children: 1) an app focused on child and family nutrition and wellness, and 2) an app focused on parents reading to their children.

Detailed description

The Mobile Apps for Preschool Parents (MAPP) Study addresses an important gap in the scientific literature, which is the need to evaluate the use of parent-targeted, guided goal-setting for childhood obesity risk reduction via a mobile application, specifically for parents of preschool-aged children for early intervention. Obesity is a leading cause of multiple chronic diseases, including 13 types of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and type II diabetes. Major behavioral determinants of obesity are also independent risk factors for these chronic diseases, including unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and poor sleep quality. Childhood obesity increases risk for adult obesity and early onset of conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, and joint problems. Childhood obesity disproportionately affects children of lower socioeconomic status, racial/ethnic minority groups, and rural areas, thus exacerbating and contributing to health disparities among obesity-related health conditions. Children in low-income families that qualify for income-based public assistance programs represent a population that is at high risk for obesity. These programs include the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) Supplemental Nutrition Program; Head Start (preschool child care centers); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF); and Medicaid. With the Attention Control Arm, the MAPP Study will also contribute valuable information about the effectiveness of using a mobile application with parent-targeted, guided goal-setting for reading to preschool-aged children. Previous studies have shown that adults reading to children is beneficial for child learning and development. All parents/guardians (both samples and both arms) will be asked to use the respective apps for an 8-week intervention period. The primary outcome will be measured in the Baseline Survey and a Follow Up Survey after completing the 8-week intervention period. After completion of the Follow Up Survey, parents/guardians will be given the option to download and use the other app, if they are interested (i.e., information about the CHEW app for the Control Arm, and information about the Control app for the Intervention Arm). For both the Intervention Arm and those who choose to download the CHEW app in the Control Arm, usage of the CHEW app (i.e., app analytics) will be tracked for up to 20 weeks after the date of study enrollment.

Conditions

• Obesity, Childhood
• Nutrition, Healthy
• Physical Inactivity
• Sleep, Inadequate

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	Children Eating Well (CHEW) mobile app	The target users of the CHEW app are parents/guardians of preschool aged children. The purpose of the CHEW app is to provide parents/guardians with easy, practical ways to improve nutrition and wellness among their preschool-aged children. The app provides guided goal setting and tracking tools. Parents/guardians set goals related to their preschool-aged children focused on nutrition, physical activity, sleep behaviors and parenting styles. The parents/guardians can also to set goals for themselves for behaviors related to nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress. The app does not have features that target children as users. The CHEW app was developed by the study team and can be downloaded for mobile devices (phones or tablets) at no cost in the Apple App Store (iOS/Apple) and the Google Play Store (Android). After downloading the CHEW app, enrolled participants must enter the Access Code provided by the study team in order to unlock the app and use it.
BEHAVIORAL	Beanstalk mobile app	Beanstack is free commercially-available mobile app that provides goal setting and tracking tools similar to the CHEW app, but focused on a different topic, specifically encouraging parents/guardians to read to their preschool children more frequently. In the case that a parent/guardian is not able to successfully download Beanstack to their mobile device, as a backup alternative they will be asked to use a similar free commercially-available mobile application called Bookroo. Beanstack is available to the public for mobile devices (phones or tablets) at no cost in the Apple App Store (iOS/Apple) and the Google Play Store (Android). Bookroo is a web-based application that users access via the mobile device's web browser and looks and functions like a regular mobile application. It should work on any mobile device with a browser and data/wifi access,

Timeline

• Start date: 2024-08-01
• Primary completion: 2025-12-01
• Completion: 2025-12-01
• First posted: 2024-07-25
• Last updated: 2025-01-14

Locations

1 site across 1 country: United States