A Web-Based Application to Improve Data Collection in an Interventional Study Targeting Childhood Obesity: Pre-Post...

Area of Science:

• Community Health
• Public Health Research
• Participatory Action Research (PAR)

Background:

• Technological resources for managing participatory action research (PAR) projects lag behind study proliferation.
• Limited research explores efficient data management using web-based applications in PAR.

Purpose of the Study:

• Describe the development and impact of a web-based application for data management.
• Facilitate data management in the Niños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family) PAR field study.

Main Methods:

• Transformed the data management process for a PAR field study.
• Evaluated the web-based application's impact on data collection time efficiency and community data collector engagement.
• Assessed data collector engagement through qualitative reports.

Main Results:

• Reduced data collection time significantly after application implementation (from 382-383 days to 198-233 days per round).
• Streamlined communication among data collectors, field staff, and the research team.
• Community data collectors reported increased empowerment and engagement post-application implementation.

Conclusions:

• A web-based management application effectively enhanced data collection efficiency in a PAR study.
• The application improved engagement among community-based data collectors.