Promoting Healthy Behaviors Among Adolescents and Young Adults With Intellectual Disability: Protocol for Developing...

Area of Science:

• Health Behavior Interventions
• Digital Health
• Intellectual Disability Research

Background:

• Intellectual disability (ID) is linked to poorer health and higher mortality.
• Young people with ID exhibit more sedentary lifestyles, increasing noncommunicable disease risk.
• Digital interventions offer a viable strategy to improve health behaviors in this demographic.

Purpose of the Study:

• To co-design a digital intervention promoting physical activity and healthy eating for adolescents and young adults with ID.
• To explore the effectiveness of co-design workshops in gathering data for intervention development.
• To create a cognitively accessible digital solution tailored to the needs of young people with ID.

Main Methods:

• A participatory co-design approach involving workshops with stakeholders, including individuals with ID, relatives, and professionals.
• Workshops facilitated needs assessment, identification of barriers/facilitators, and well-being considerations.
• Qualitative analysis of transcribed audio/video data collected concurrently with data collection.

Main Results:

• The study protocol systematically documents methodologies for developing a digital intervention.
• Insights into practical solutions and challenges of co-design with diverse stakeholders were gained.
• Participant recruitment commenced in April 2023, with data collection, analysis, and reporting concluding in December 2023.

Conclusions:

• Co-design workshops can yield rich, valid data for developing digital health interventions.
• The project aims to inform the creation of evidence-based, scalable digital tools for promoting healthy lifestyles.
• A simple, accessible digital solution will be developed to motivate physical activity and healthier diets among adolescents and young adults with ID.