Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss
Background For most individuals, long-term maintenance of weight loss requires long-term, supportive intervention. Internet-based weight loss maintenance programs offer considerable potential for meeting this need. Careful design processes are required to maximize adherence and minimize attrition....
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
JMIR Publications
2008-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| Online Access: | http://www.jmir.org/2008/1/e1/ |
| _version_ | 1811189893060100096 |
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| author | Stevens, Victor J Funk, Kristine L Brantley, Phillip J Erlinger, Thomas P Myers, Valerie H Champagne, Catherine M Bauck, Alan Samuel-Hodge, Carmen D Hollis, Jack F |
| author_facet | Stevens, Victor J Funk, Kristine L Brantley, Phillip J Erlinger, Thomas P Myers, Valerie H Champagne, Catherine M Bauck, Alan Samuel-Hodge, Carmen D Hollis, Jack F |
| author_sort | Stevens, Victor J |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background For most individuals, long-term maintenance of weight loss requires long-term, supportive intervention. Internet-based weight loss maintenance programs offer considerable potential for meeting this need. Careful design processes are required to maximize adherence and minimize attrition.
ObjectiveThis paper describes the development, implementation and use of a Web-based intervention program designed to help those who have recently lost weight sustain their weight loss over 1 year.
MethodsThe weight loss maintenance website was developed over a 1-year period by an interdisciplinary team of public health researchers, behavior change intervention experts, applications developers, and interface designers. Key interactive features of the final site include social support, self-monitoring, written guidelines for diet and physical activity, links to appropriate websites, supportive tools for behavior change, check-in accountability, tailored reinforcement messages, and problem solving and relapse prevention training. The weight loss maintenance program included a reminder system (automated email and telephone messages) that prompted participants to return to the website if they missed their check-in date. If there was no log-in response to the email and telephone automated prompts, a staff member called the participant. We tracked the proportion of participants with at least one log-in per month, and analyzed log-ins as a result of automated prompts.
ResultsThe mean age of the 348 participants enrolled in an ongoing randomized trial and assigned to use the website was 56 years; 63% were female, and 38% were African American. While weight loss data will not be available until mid-2008, website use remained high during the first year with over 80% of the participants still using the website during month 12. During the first 52 weeks, participants averaged 35 weeks with at least one log-in. Email and telephone prompts appear to be very effective at helping participants sustain ongoing website use.
ConclusionsDeveloping interactive websites is expensive, complex, and time consuming. We found that extensive paper prototyping well in advance of programming and a versatile product manager who could work with project staff at all levels of detail were essential to keeping the development process efficient.
Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT00054925 |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:42:29Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ac95b98543c44e69985ac407c38af11 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1438-8871 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T14:42:29Z |
| publishDate | 2008-01-01 |
| publisher | JMIR Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ac95b98543c44e69985ac407c38af112022-12-22T04:17:49ZengJMIR PublicationsJournal of Medical Internet Research1438-88712008-01-01101e110.2196/jmir.931Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight LossStevens, Victor JFunk, Kristine LBrantley, Phillip JErlinger, Thomas PMyers, Valerie HChampagne, Catherine MBauck, AlanSamuel-Hodge, Carmen DHollis, Jack FBackground For most individuals, long-term maintenance of weight loss requires long-term, supportive intervention. Internet-based weight loss maintenance programs offer considerable potential for meeting this need. Careful design processes are required to maximize adherence and minimize attrition. ObjectiveThis paper describes the development, implementation and use of a Web-based intervention program designed to help those who have recently lost weight sustain their weight loss over 1 year. MethodsThe weight loss maintenance website was developed over a 1-year period by an interdisciplinary team of public health researchers, behavior change intervention experts, applications developers, and interface designers. Key interactive features of the final site include social support, self-monitoring, written guidelines for diet and physical activity, links to appropriate websites, supportive tools for behavior change, check-in accountability, tailored reinforcement messages, and problem solving and relapse prevention training. The weight loss maintenance program included a reminder system (automated email and telephone messages) that prompted participants to return to the website if they missed their check-in date. If there was no log-in response to the email and telephone automated prompts, a staff member called the participant. We tracked the proportion of participants with at least one log-in per month, and analyzed log-ins as a result of automated prompts. ResultsThe mean age of the 348 participants enrolled in an ongoing randomized trial and assigned to use the website was 56 years; 63% were female, and 38% were African American. While weight loss data will not be available until mid-2008, website use remained high during the first year with over 80% of the participants still using the website during month 12. During the first 52 weeks, participants averaged 35 weeks with at least one log-in. Email and telephone prompts appear to be very effective at helping participants sustain ongoing website use. ConclusionsDeveloping interactive websites is expensive, complex, and time consuming. We found that extensive paper prototyping well in advance of programming and a versatile product manager who could work with project staff at all levels of detail were essential to keeping the development process efficient. Trial Registrationclinicaltrials.gov NCT00054925http://www.jmir.org/2008/1/e1/ |
| spellingShingle | Stevens, Victor J Funk, Kristine L Brantley, Phillip J Erlinger, Thomas P Myers, Valerie H Champagne, Catherine M Bauck, Alan Samuel-Hodge, Carmen D Hollis, Jack F Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss Journal of Medical Internet Research |
| title | Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss |
| title_full | Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss |
| title_fullStr | Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss |
| title_full_unstemmed | Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss |
| title_short | Design and Implementation of an Interactive Website to Support Long-Term Maintenance of Weight Loss |
| title_sort | design and implementation of an interactive website to support long term maintenance of weight loss |
| url | http://www.jmir.org/2008/1/e1/ |
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