Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight

Background: Obesity risk factors can be identified during infancy, providing an opportunity for early intervention. ProAsk is an interactive digital intervention that supports health professionals to quantify and communicate an infant's overweight risk status, prompting discussion of parental s...

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Main Authors: Rose, Jennie, Redsell, Sarah A., Wharrad, Heather, Siriwardena, A. Niroshan, Swift, Judy A., Dilip, Nathan, Weng, Stephen F., Atkinson, Pippa, Ablewhite, Joanne, Watson, Vicki, Glazebrook, Cris
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Published: Wiley 2017
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Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49395/
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author Rose, Jennie
Redsell, Sarah A.
Wharrad, Heather
Siriwardena, A. Niroshan
Swift, Judy A.
Dilip, Nathan
Weng, Stephen F.
Atkinson, Pippa
Ablewhite, Joanne
Watson, Vicki
Glazebrook, Cris
author_facet Rose, Jennie
Redsell, Sarah A.
Wharrad, Heather
Siriwardena, A. Niroshan
Swift, Judy A.
Dilip, Nathan
Weng, Stephen F.
Atkinson, Pippa
Ablewhite, Joanne
Watson, Vicki
Glazebrook, Cris
author_sort Rose, Jennie
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: Obesity risk factors can be identified during infancy, providing an opportunity for early intervention. ProAsk is an interactive digital intervention that supports health professionals to quantify and communicate an infant's overweight risk status, prompting discussion of parental strategies to reduce future risk. Aim: To investigate user experiences of an interactive digital intervention that assesses overweight risk during infancy and supports motivational behaviour change by parents to reduce their infants' future risk. Method: The study was conducted in four economically deprived localities in the UK. Qualitative data on user experiences of ProAsk were collected at the end of a feasibility study of the intervention in which health visitors (public health nurses) used ProAsk with parents when the infants were three months old. Semi-structured interviews with parents (N = 12) and health visitors (N = 15) were conducted when the infants were 6 months old. Interview data were transcribed and analysed thematically using an inductive, interpretative approach. Results: The analysis identified four key themes: engaging and empowering with digital technology; unfamiliar technology presents challenge and opportunity; trust in the risk score; resistance to targeting. Conclusions: Interactive, digital technology was found to actively engage parents, and enabled them to take ownership of the process of seeking strategies to reduce infant risk of overweight. However, cognitive and motivational biases that prevent effective overweight risk communication represent barriers to targeting the intervention at those infants most at risk of becoming overweight.
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spelling nottingham-493952020-05-04T19:17:09Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49395/ Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight Rose, Jennie Redsell, Sarah A. Wharrad, Heather Siriwardena, A. Niroshan Swift, Judy A. Dilip, Nathan Weng, Stephen F. Atkinson, Pippa Ablewhite, Joanne Watson, Vicki Glazebrook, Cris Background: Obesity risk factors can be identified during infancy, providing an opportunity for early intervention. ProAsk is an interactive digital intervention that supports health professionals to quantify and communicate an infant's overweight risk status, prompting discussion of parental strategies to reduce future risk. Aim: To investigate user experiences of an interactive digital intervention that assesses overweight risk during infancy and supports motivational behaviour change by parents to reduce their infants' future risk. Method: The study was conducted in four economically deprived localities in the UK. Qualitative data on user experiences of ProAsk were collected at the end of a feasibility study of the intervention in which health visitors (public health nurses) used ProAsk with parents when the infants were three months old. Semi-structured interviews with parents (N = 12) and health visitors (N = 15) were conducted when the infants were 6 months old. Interview data were transcribed and analysed thematically using an inductive, interpretative approach. Results: The analysis identified four key themes: engaging and empowering with digital technology; unfamiliar technology presents challenge and opportunity; trust in the risk score; resistance to targeting. Conclusions: Interactive, digital technology was found to actively engage parents, and enabled them to take ownership of the process of seeking strategies to reduce infant risk of overweight. However, cognitive and motivational biases that prevent effective overweight risk communication represent barriers to targeting the intervention at those infants most at risk of becoming overweight. Wiley 2017-11-12 Article PeerReviewed Rose, Jennie, Redsell, Sarah A., Wharrad, Heather, Siriwardena, A. Niroshan, Swift, Judy A., Dilip, Nathan, Weng, Stephen F., Atkinson, Pippa, Ablewhite, Joanne, Watson, Vicki and Glazebrook, Cris (2017) Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight. Acta Paediatrica, 106 (S470). p. 10. ISSN 1651-2227 Infancy; Intervention; Obesity; Overweight; Prevention http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apa.14093/abstract? doi:10.1111/apa.14093 doi:10.1111/apa.14093
spellingShingle Infancy; Intervention; Obesity; Overweight; Prevention
Rose, Jennie
Redsell, Sarah A.
Wharrad, Heather
Siriwardena, A. Niroshan
Swift, Judy A.
Dilip, Nathan
Weng, Stephen F.
Atkinson, Pippa
Ablewhite, Joanne
Watson, Vicki
Glazebrook, Cris
Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title_full Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title_fullStr Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title_full_unstemmed Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title_short Using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
title_sort using interactive digital technology to predict and prevent childhood overweight
topic Infancy; Intervention; Obesity; Overweight; Prevention
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49395/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49395/
https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/49395/