TY - JOUR
T1 - See how they grow
T2 - Testing the feasibility of a mobile app to support parents' understanding of child growth charts
AU - Humphrey, Gayl
AU - Dobson, Rosie
AU - Parag, Varsha
AU - Hiemstra, Marion
AU - Howie, Stephen
AU - Marsh, Samantha
AU - Morton, Susan
AU - Mordaunt, Dylan
AU - Wadham, Angela
AU - Bullen, Chris
PY - 2021/2/19
Y1 - 2021/2/19
N2 - Background Mobile devices provide new opportunities for the prevention of overweight and obesity in children. We aimed to co-create and test an app that offered comprehensible feedback to parents on their child's growth and delivered a suite of age-specific information about nutrition and activity. Methods A two-phased approach was used to co-create the digital growth tool-See How They Grow -and test its feasibility. Phase one used focus groups (parents and professionals such as paediatricians and midwives) and a national on-line survey to gather requirements and build the app. Phase two involved testing the app over 12-weeks, with parents or carers of children aged ≤ 2-years. All research activities were undertaken exclusively through the app, and participants were recruited using social media and hard copy materials given to patents at a child health visit. Findings Four focus groups and 101 responses to the national survey informed the features and functions to include in the final app. Two hundred and twenty-five participants downloaded the app, resulting in 208 eligible participants. Non-Māori/Non-Pacific (78%) and Māori (14%) had the highest downloads. Fifty-four per cent of participants were parents of children under 6-months. These participants were more likely to regularly use the app than those with children older than 6-months (64% vs 36%, P = 0.011). Over half of the participants entered three measures (n = 101, 48%). Of those that completed the follow-up survey (n = 101, 48%), 72 reported that the app helped them better understand how to interpret growth charts. Conclusion The app was acceptable and with minor modifications, has the potential to be an effective tool to support parents understanding of growth trajectories for their children. A larger trial is needed to evaluate if the app can have a measurable impact on increasing knowledge and behaviour, and therefore on preventing childhood overweight and obesity.
AB - Background Mobile devices provide new opportunities for the prevention of overweight and obesity in children. We aimed to co-create and test an app that offered comprehensible feedback to parents on their child's growth and delivered a suite of age-specific information about nutrition and activity. Methods A two-phased approach was used to co-create the digital growth tool-See How They Grow -and test its feasibility. Phase one used focus groups (parents and professionals such as paediatricians and midwives) and a national on-line survey to gather requirements and build the app. Phase two involved testing the app over 12-weeks, with parents or carers of children aged ≤ 2-years. All research activities were undertaken exclusively through the app, and participants were recruited using social media and hard copy materials given to patents at a child health visit. Findings Four focus groups and 101 responses to the national survey informed the features and functions to include in the final app. Two hundred and twenty-five participants downloaded the app, resulting in 208 eligible participants. Non-Māori/Non-Pacific (78%) and Māori (14%) had the highest downloads. Fifty-four per cent of participants were parents of children under 6-months. These participants were more likely to regularly use the app than those with children older than 6-months (64% vs 36%, P = 0.011). Over half of the participants entered three measures (n = 101, 48%). Of those that completed the follow-up survey (n = 101, 48%), 72 reported that the app helped them better understand how to interpret growth charts. Conclusion The app was acceptable and with minor modifications, has the potential to be an effective tool to support parents understanding of growth trajectories for their children. A larger trial is needed to evaluate if the app can have a measurable impact on increasing knowledge and behaviour, and therefore on preventing childhood overweight and obesity.
KW - Testing
KW - Parents' Understanding
KW - Child Growth Charts
KW - Mobile App
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85101316888&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0246045
DO - 10.1371/journal.pone.0246045
M3 - Article
C2 - 33606687
AN - SCOPUS:85101316888
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 16
JO - PLoS One
JF - PLoS One
IS - 2
M1 - e0246045
ER -
