None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
Mobile (M)-health programs hold promise as health promotion interventions: they require minimal resourcing, can be delivered at scale and have the potential to engage a wide audience, including hard-to-reach families and rural and remote populations. Text messages and social media posts have been shown to be an effective and convenient way to help people adopt healthy habits. The “Adventure & Veg” research study aims to assess the effectiveness of a text message and social media program for parents on their primary school-aged children’s physical activity and vegetable eating behaviours. Eligible participants will be asked to do a brief online survey at the beginning of the study and then at 2 months. This survey will ask questions about the participant's and participant's primary school-aged child's physical activity and vegetable eating behaviours. After completing survey 1, participants will be randomly allocated into either an intervention or control group. The intervention group will receive 8 weeks of text messages (5 messages each week) on tips for healthy lifestyle habits (e.g. physical activity, nutrition) and have access to a closed Facebook group with weekly local outdoor activity ideas. The control group will be invited to join the program in 2023, should the research study prove successful. At the completion of the study participants will be offered a $50 gift voucher as a thank you for their time.
Interventions
Parents or carers with primary school-aged children will receive 8 weeks of daily text messages (5 messages each week) on tips for healthy lifestyle habits with a focus on physical activity and vegetable intake promotion. The text messages will be developed with advice from experts in physical activity, nutrition and health promotion. The messages will be designed using Michie et al’s COM-B system from the Behaviour Change Wheel, with the aim of increasing families’ capability, opportunity and m
Parents or carers with primary school-aged children will receive 8 weeks of daily text messages (5 messages each week) on tips for healthy lifestyle habits with a focus on physical activity and vegetable intake promotion. The text messages will be developed with advice from experts in physical activity, nutrition and health promotion. The messages will be designed using Michie et al’s COM-B system from the Behaviour Change Wheel, with the aim of increasing families’ capability, opportunity and motivation to support healthy eating and physical activity behaviours. Additionally the behaviour change techniques that we will use in the text messages will be based on the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. A technology platform for the automation of text messages has been developed and tested using Burst SMS. Participants can stop receiving messages at any time by texting ‘STOP’. Examples of text messages are as follows: Fussy veggie eaters? Keep trying and don't give up! Some kids need to try a new food several times before they accept it and decide they like it. Turn screen time into green time. Time in nature can boost everyone's mood. Why not plan a walk together this week? For better quality sleep, make everyone's bedroom screen free. Keep TVs out of children's rooms and have a separate place where devices 'sleep' overnight. Parents or carers will also have access to a closed Facebook group with weekly local outdoor activity ideas across the four local government areas of the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (Wollongong, Shellharbour, Kiama and Shoalhaven). As with the text messages, the Facebook posts will employ behaviour change techniques from the Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy. Each week will have a different theme with four posts per week (one from each of the local government areas). The activity ideas are all self-directed, free of charge and fall in to the following categories: i. Bushwalking ii. Bike paths iii. Playgrounds iv. Waterfalls v. Coastal walks vi. Skate parks, BMX & pump tracks vii. Ocean rock pools viii. Picnic – Gardens & National Parks The Friday text message will nudge participants to look at the Facebook page e.g. Where will your weekend take you? Swing, slide, spin, climb! There are 100s of local play spaces and parks. Check out our favourites: {insert Facebook link} Participants will be able to post messages and chat with other program participants on the closed Facebook group. The group will be moderated by Dr Jennifer Norman and the Health Promotion Service Media and Communications Officers. Participants can un-follow the group at any time. Facebook engagement metrics will be gathered, including likes, comments and shares. These metrics will be used to inform the program content moving forward.
Sponsors
Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Parallel
Primary purpose
Prevention
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
5 Years to 12 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
To be able to take part in the study participants will need to: live in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD); have a child who attends primary school; live with the child for at least 4 days on an average week; have a child who exceeds the recommended sedentary recreational screen time guidelines; have a mobile phone and access to the Internet; and be able to read and understand English.
Exclusion criteria
Nil outside the inclusion criteria
Outcome results
None listed