A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study
Abstract Background The present study is the first step of a 3-year European project in which a tailored smartphone application will be developed and tested as a potential tool in the personalized treatment of children and adolescents with overweight. Methods In this study, 10 focus groups (n = 48 p...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15248-z |
| _version_ | 1797845716364689408 |
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| author | Maurane Desmet Sieske Franssen Tugce Varol Alicia Fillon David Thivel Anne Roefs Caroline Braet |
| author_facet | Maurane Desmet Sieske Franssen Tugce Varol Alicia Fillon David Thivel Anne Roefs Caroline Braet |
| author_sort | Maurane Desmet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background The present study is the first step of a 3-year European project in which a tailored smartphone application will be developed and tested as a potential tool in the personalized treatment of children and adolescents with overweight. Methods In this study, 10 focus groups (n = 48 participants) were conducted in Belgium, The Netherlands and France with adolescents with overweight (12–16 years; n = 30) and parents of adolescents with overweight (n = 18) to investigate their perceptions on (un)healthy behavior, the drivers of these behaviors, and the needs of an eHealth application for weight loss. A thorough thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo12. Results Results show that adolescents with overweight have a well-articulated perspective on (un)healthy behavior and their needs. Parents underestimate their own influence on the (un)healthy behavior of their children and report difficulties in healthy lifestyle parenting, which makes their role as a coach rather ambiguous. Concerning the needs of an eHealth application, both parents and adolescents formulated some challenging expectations regarding the content and the format including information, a monitoring feature and features that increase participants’ motivation to behave healthy. The results of this analysis will form the basis for designing a personalized eHealth application, which will be tested in a next phase. Conclusion We can conclude that adolescents have a well-articulated perspective on healthy and unhealthy behavior and their needs, whereby a new app could be of great help. It could function as a day-by-day diary and as a supportive coach. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:43:27Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-039911e5c7ad4a88852f281d5d67dcd1 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T17:43:27Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-039911e5c7ad4a88852f281d5d67dcd12023-04-16T11:27:08ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-04-0123111210.1186/s12889-023-15248-zA smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative studyMaurane Desmet0Sieske Franssen1Tugce Varol2Alicia Fillon3David Thivel4Anne Roefs5Caroline Braet6Department of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent UniversityDepartment of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht UniversityDepartment of Work and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht UniversityLaboratory of the Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise under Physiological and Pathological Conditions (AME2P), Clermont Auvergne UniversityLaboratory of the Metabolic Adaptations to Exercise under Physiological and Pathological Conditions (AME2P), Clermont Auvergne UniversityDepartment of Clinical Psychological Science, Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience, Maastricht UniversityDepartment of Developmental, Personality and Social Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent UniversityAbstract Background The present study is the first step of a 3-year European project in which a tailored smartphone application will be developed and tested as a potential tool in the personalized treatment of children and adolescents with overweight. Methods In this study, 10 focus groups (n = 48 participants) were conducted in Belgium, The Netherlands and France with adolescents with overweight (12–16 years; n = 30) and parents of adolescents with overweight (n = 18) to investigate their perceptions on (un)healthy behavior, the drivers of these behaviors, and the needs of an eHealth application for weight loss. A thorough thematic analysis was performed using Nvivo12. Results Results show that adolescents with overweight have a well-articulated perspective on (un)healthy behavior and their needs. Parents underestimate their own influence on the (un)healthy behavior of their children and report difficulties in healthy lifestyle parenting, which makes their role as a coach rather ambiguous. Concerning the needs of an eHealth application, both parents and adolescents formulated some challenging expectations regarding the content and the format including information, a monitoring feature and features that increase participants’ motivation to behave healthy. The results of this analysis will form the basis for designing a personalized eHealth application, which will be tested in a next phase. Conclusion We can conclude that adolescents have a well-articulated perspective on healthy and unhealthy behavior and their needs, whereby a new app could be of great help. It could function as a day-by-day diary and as a supportive coach.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15248-zOverweightAdolescentseHealthAppPersonalizedTreatment |
| spellingShingle | Maurane Desmet Sieske Franssen Tugce Varol Alicia Fillon David Thivel Anne Roefs Caroline Braet A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study BMC Public Health Overweight Adolescents eHealth App Personalized Treatment |
| title | A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study |
| title_full | A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study |
| title_short | A smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight: an explorative qualitative study |
| title_sort | smartphone application as a personalized treatment tool for adolescents with overweight an explorative qualitative study |
| topic | Overweight Adolescents eHealth App Personalized Treatment |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15248-z |
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