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Incorporating mobile health (mHealth) technology for monitoring physical activity and dietary intake into a community-based health and needs assessment: The Washington D.C. Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment


Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Johnetta Saygbe, BS, National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Gwenyth R. Wallen, PhD, RN, National Institutes of Health Clinical Center, Bethesa, MD
Alyssa Todaro-Brooks, BS, Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Marlene Peters-Lawrence, RN, Division of Intramural Research - Hematology Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD
JaWanna Henry, MPH, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Maryland Baltimore, Baltimore, MD
Leah Yingling, BS, Division of Intramural Research - Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD
Valerie Mitchell, Division of Intramural Research - Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Branch, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, Bethesda, MD
Dana Sampson, MBA, Office of the Director, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Twanda Johnson, ABA, Warren Grant Magnuson Clinical Center, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Kenneth Wiley Jr., PhD, Division of Genomic Medicine, National Human Genome Research Institute, National Institutes of Health, Rockville, MD
Avis Graham, PhD, RD, LDN, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC
Lennox Graham, DM, Department of Nutritional Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC
Allan Johnson, PhD, Nutritional Sciences, Howard University, Washington, DC
Tiffany Powell-Wiley, MD, MPH, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Background: Health and needs assessments are commonly used in resource-limited communities to identify targets and tailor community-based interventions for improving cardiovascular health. Little is known about incorporating mHealth technology to measure physical activity (PA) and dietary intake into a community-based cardiovascular health and needs assessment. 

Objectives: The community-based pilot study (NCT: NCT01927783) evaluates cardiovascular health factors and tests mHealth tools that can be used to improve PA and dietary intake in a tailored intervention in resource-limited Washington D.C. wards. It was designed and implemented with community advisory board input.    

Methods: Study participants underwent a day-long assessment at one of four participating community churches. PA, dietary intake and cardiovascular health markers (blood glucose, lipids, body composition, blood pressure) were measured.  Each participant was trained to use a wristband PA monitor and web-based technology during the day-long assessment. A subset of participants was trained on using a mobile device-based digital food record to test its feasibility as a dietary assessment tool. Participants were encouraged to use the PA monitor and web-based technology for tracking cardiovascular health markers for at least one month.

Results: Outcomes include methods developed for training participants of varying technological literacy on mHealth device usage at each data collection event. Other outcomes are methods developed to identify and troubleshoot difficulties in collecting PA data based on Wi-Fi access, technological literacy, or technological issues with the PA monitoring system. Preliminary participant data (n=68) demonstrate that use of these methods led 82% of participants (n=56) across four sites to use the PA monitor over a 30-day period [average 18.1±10.9 days used]. 

Conclusion: Our findings will indicate ways in which mHealth technology can be incorporated into a community-based cardiovascular health and needs assessment. This technology may serve as tools promoting PA and dietary change in community-based interventions targeting cardiovascular health in resource-limited environments. 

Learning Areas:

Assessment of individual and community needs for health education
Chronic 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 research

Learning Objectives:
Describe strategies for incorporating mobile health technology in community-based intervention for monitoring physical activity (PA) and dietary intake. Identify barriers to monitoring PA in resource-limited environments using mHealth technology. Discuss specific strategies to improve utilization frequency of PA monitor and web-based technology for monitoring PA and tracking cardiovascular health markers

Keyword(s): Technology, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the prinicpal investigator for a federally funded protocol evaluating the use of mHealth technology in the development of community-based interventions targeting physical activity and dietary intake for cardiovascular health improvement. Among my scientific interests is the feasibility of incorporating mobile Health technology for use in interventions in resource-limited communities.
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.

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