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Memphis FitKids: implementing a mobile-friendly web-based application to enhance parents' participation in improving
Gerhild Ullmann1, Satish K Kedia2, Ramin Homayouni3
1Social and Behavioral Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Memphis, 3825 Desoto Ave, Memphis, TN, 38152, USA. ullmann1@memphis.edu.
Insights
Memphis FitKids, a web-based tool, successfully reached many families in Tennessee, demonstrating its potential to improve child health and combat obesity. This digital health intervention provided tailored recommendations for healthier lifestyles.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Digital Health Interventions
- Health Behavior Change
Background:
- Childhood obesity is a significant public health issue in Tennessee, increasing risks for chronic diseases.
- Emerging communication technologies offer scalable solutions for population-level health behavior interventions.
- The Memphis FitKids project aimed to address these challenges through a novel web-based application.
Purpose of the Study:
- To implement and evaluate the reach of Memphis FitKids, a web-based application designed to promote healthy behaviors among families.
- To assess the effectiveness of a digital tool in providing accessible health information and tailored recommendations.
- To explore the role of technology in combating childhood obesity in a high-prevalence state.
Main Methods:
- A community-level demonstration project, Memphis FitKids, was developed and deployed in Tennessee.
- The web application allowed parents to assess child obesity risk factors and receive personalized recommendations via a 'FitCheck' tool.
- A social marketing framework, community partnerships, public kiosks, and social media were utilized for promotion and broad reach.
Main Results:
- Over 38,000 FitCheck sessions were completed by over 33,000 users in Tennessee between July 2014 and December 2016.
- Community kiosks facilitated 6,763 sessions, indicating accessibility across socioeconomic strata.
- Project promotion reached 23,767 unique users via social media and 112 community events.
Conclusions:
- Web-based health tools like Memphis FitKids show promise as a viable strategy for increasing access to healthy weight and lifestyle information for families.
- Mobile-friendly applications can effectively support health professionals in guiding clients toward healthier behaviors.
- The project highlights the potential of digital health solutions in public health initiatives to combat childhood obesity.
Background:
Child obesity is a major public health challenge, increasing the risk of chronic medical conditions such as type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome, and hypertension. Among U.S. states, Tennessee has one of the highest rates of child obesity. Emerging communication technologies can help to deliver highly disseminable population-level interventions to improve health behavior. The aim of this paper is to report the implementation and the evaluation of the reach of Memphis FitKids, a web-based application, intended to promote healthy behaviors for families and children.
Methods:
A community-level demonstration project, Memphis FitKids, was developed and implemented in Tennessee's Greater Memphis Area. This application ( www.memphisfitkids.org ) was designed for parents to assess their children's obesity risk through determinants such as weight, diet, physical activity, screen time, and sleep adequacy. A built-in "FitCheck" tool used this collected information to create a report with tailored recommendations on how to make healthy changes. A Geographic Information Systems component was implemented to suggest low-cost neighborhood resources that support a healthy lifestyle. A social marketing framework was used to develop and implement FitKids, and a Community Advisory Board with representatives from community partners (e.g., the YMCA of Memphis, the Pink Palace Family of Museums, and the Memphis Public Library) supported the implementation of the project. Five kiosks distributed in the community served as public access points to provide a broad reach across socioeconomic strata. Presentations at community events and the use of Facebook facilitated the promotion of FitKids. Website traffic and Facebook usage were evaluated with Google Analytics and Facebook Insights, respectively.
Results:
In Tennessee, 33,505 users completed 38,429 FitCheck sessions between July 2014 and December 2016. Among these, 6763 sessions were completed at the five kiosks in the community. FitKids was presented at 112 community events and the social media posts reached 23,767 unique Facebook users.
Conclusions:
The Memphis FitKids demonstration project showed that web-based health tools may be a viable strategy to increase access to information about healthy weight and lifestyle options for families. Mobile-friendly web-based applications like Memphis FitKids may also serve health professionals in their efforts to support their clients in adopting healthy behaviors.