141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

283194
Using mobile technology to improve the health of adolescents: A feasibility study

Tuesday, November 5, 2013 : 4:50 PM - 5:10 PM

Vanessa Miller, DrPH, APRN , Mervyn M. Dymally School of Nursing, Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, Los Angeles, CA
Purpose: This original research aims to inform the development of a Mobile Research App (MRA), which can be used to collect data on adolescent health risk behavior and deliver appropriate interventions and/or decision-making tools. Materials and Methods: We used qualitative market research methods (youth focus groups, parent-guardian/youth demographic survey) to assess the feasibility of using mobile technology to collect data about major factors related to adolescent use of mobile technology. Adolescents (n=39) were provided with a prototype of our MRA. They used the MRA to input individual demographic data and data about their individual health behavior. The adolescents then provided feedback about strengths, weaknesses, and suggested improvements for the MRA. Results: Adolescent use of mobile technology was similar across racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic lines. A Mobile Research App (MRA) with the capacity to both collect real-time data on adolescent risk-taking behavior and deliver an appropriate intervention and/or decision-making guidance may help adolescents better assess risk-taking behavior; however, the MRA must be built according to the specifications of the users, youth. Conclusion: This qualitative research informs the overall design of a mobile, data collection tool (MRA) to assess adolescent risk-taking behavior, as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Surveillance System. It also provides information about adolescent requirements for timely, dynamic interventions to decrease or stop adolescent risk-taking behaviors.

Learning Areas:
Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
List the characteristics of mobile technology most appealing to the adolescent population. Discuss adolescent risk-taking behavior in a digital and mobile environment. Compare traditional youth behavioral health assessment tools and digital youth behavioral health assessment tools.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, Risk Taking Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principal investigator on this funded research. This research is a continuation of previously published research on health risk behavior. I am a registered nurse clinician who preforms clinical services for adolescents with behavioral health issues.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.