ERIC Number: EJ1471019
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Jun
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1090-1981
EISSN: EISSN-1552-6127
Available Date: 0000-00-00
Integrating Theory with a User-Centered Design Approach to Maximize mHealth Acceptability and Usability
A. Susana Ramírez1; Guadalupe Xochitl Ayala2; Mary Murillo3; Debora C. Glik3; Alma D. Guerrero3
Health Education & Behavior, v52 n3 p329-339 2025
Mobile phone interventions are evidence-based methods for preventing obesity among Latino adults and school-aged children; however, few such interventions exist to improve the obesogenic behaviors of children in the developmentally critical preschool years (ages 2-5). Focusing on this age group is important since over one-quarter of 2- to 5-year-old Latino children are overweight or obese. Moreover, most documented interventions target mothers exclusively, ignoring the influence that other caregivers such as fathers and grandparents have on the environment and the child's behaviors. We describe the development and refinement of a theory-informed mobile phone intervention using an iterative, user-centered approach that supports healthy weight-related behaviors in preschool-aged Latino children by engaging mothers, fathers, and grandparents. The resulting intervention, "Familias Unidas, Niños Sanos" (FUNS), is a culturally centered bilingual (Spanish/English), 12-week, web-based mobile phone intervention grounded in family systems theory. Through three to four weekly text messages and links to web-based interactive multi-media content, caregivers of 2- to 5-year-old Latino children learn evidence-based practices to support specific child behaviors in three domains: healthy eating, media viewing, and physical activity. Development of specific messages is grounded in social cognitive theory. Participants can connect with a virtual coach and other participants. The prototype received high levels of acceptability and usability among members of the target audience and is ready for feasibility testing. The systematic process of development and refinement of the intervention can serve as a model for other mHealth interventions, addressing the ongoing critique of the general lack of theoretical application in such intervention work.
Descriptors: Handheld Devices, Telecommunications, Preschool Children, Child Behavior, Health Behavior, Hispanic Americans, Obesity, Intervention, Mothers, Fathers, Grandparents, Bilingualism, Usability, Health Programs, Program Design
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: California (Los Angeles)
Grant or Contract Numbers: R21HD096298; P30DK092924; U54MD012397; S21MD010690
Author Affiliations: 1University of California, Merced, Merced, CA, USA; 2San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA; 3University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA