328894
Opt4Health (Obesity Prevention Texts for Health): A social marketing mHealth campaign, integrating text, web, and voice messaging, for obesity prevention efforts in Mississippi and Louisiana
OPT4Health leveraged existing interventions in elementary schools and Head Start Centers by providing a mHealth obesity prevention campaign to reach children and parents that was aligned with a school-year calendar of nutrition and healthful living social marketing and education, and food promotion activities. Each Friday, texts were sent to participants including a strategic obesity prevention message (recipe, fact about nutrition, physical activity recommendation, etc.), link to a fun video, and a phone number for participants to call to hear a song/message about healthy living. Teachers, staff, and parents indicated changing their eating behaviors (trying new foods, trying new recipes), drinking less sugar-sweetened beverages/more water, and taking part in more physical activity due to the mHealth program.
mHealth programs like OPT4Health have the potential improve obesity prevention campaigns by disseminating key health education messages taught in school-/Head Start Center-based nutrition/healthy living education programs to parents and other community members. Thus, health promotion can reach more people in an efficacious, health content-coordinated manner.
Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programsChronic disease management and prevention
Communication and informatics
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Learning Objectives:
Describe a social marketing public health strategy for multi-sector obesity prevention that uses mHealth to promote good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy eating for children and families in states with high obesity rates (MS and LA).
Demonstrate the components of an integrated, multi-function technology mHealth campaign (text, web, and voice messaging), and how they are integrated, to support community-wide public health campaigns.
Formulate a strategy to add multi-functional mHealth to existing obesity interventions in schools, child care centers, clinics, and other socializing institutions.
Keyword(s): Communication Technology, Social Marketing
Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: For seven years, I have worked on programs addressing childhood obesity prevention. I assist organizations interested in improving the health and well-being of children, families, and communities, through a variety of programming, including evidence-based curricula. I also assist these groups with the evaluation component of these programs, including the collection of qualitative and quantitative data. In particular, I am interested in school-based wellness policies and programs to support good nutrition and healthy living for kids.
Any relevant financial relationships? Yes
| Name of Organization | Clinical/Research Area | Type of relationship |
|---|---|---|
| The OrganWise Guys, Inc. | N/A | Employment (includes retainer) |
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.