Location-based Smartphone Technology to Guide College Students??? Healthy Choices Phase II

DESCRIPTION provided by applicant Poor eating habits sedentary behavior and deficient sleep quality are problematic for many college students Surrounded by numerous unhealthy food choices and physical activity barriers students are vulnerable to overweight and chronic diseases such as diabetes heart disease and cancer Todayandapos s college students are more technologically connected than previous generations positioning mobile devices as an ideal method for reaching this population with healthy lifestyle information In a Phase I SBIR our team developed Healthy Detours an innovative mobile phone application app designed to assist college students make healthier choices about food and physical activity on and around their college campus Specifically we a developed a comprehensive database to provide user specific information through the use of location based services LBS focused on healthy lifestyle choices b conducted an online survey with a national sample of undergraduates which examined eating and physical activity preferences interest in smartphone technology to monitor healthy lifestyle choices and use of andquot check insandquot for health information c conducted focus groups which demonstrated the prototype appandapos s ability to provide the user with rudimentary aspects of the LBS database to facilitate real time decision making for healthier choices d conducted lab and field usability testing of the app for its accuracy in identifying user location and functionality and e developed a specifications document to outline the Phase II development plan The results of the Phase I activities provided strong support for this Phase II SBIR application in which we propose to develop an interactive mobile app that is guided by the Theory of Planned Behavior TPB and Social Cognitive Theory SCT The proposed Phase II project will produce a fully functional LBS smartphone app that will provide immediate and relevant feedback at the point of decision making to reinforce healthy lifestyle behaviors person and location specific tailored data acquired through activity tracking to provide users with necessary information to improve future decision making and multiple health tracking features that will aid in self monitoring Healthy Detours will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial n with students at a large year university Primary outcomes include changes in dietary intake physical activity behavior sleep quality and quality of life Overall the proposed project has the potential to significantly impact colleg studentsandapos health and quality of life by providing them with real time healthy choices Healthy Detours is one of the first comprehensive wellness apps offered to college students and provides an opportunity via the SBIR funding mechanism to reach a large number of students as evidenced by our commercialization plan PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE College students are in a newly independent phase of life many of whom encounter unhealthy dietary decision making barriers to physical activity and poor sleep behaviors Healthy Detours is a location based smartphone application tailored in real time to a studentandapos s schedule and locale and aims to guide students toward healthier eating exercise and lifestyle choices as a way to prevent the onset of damaging and costly health outcomes Through a randomized control trial this Phase II project will test the effectiveness of an evidence based smartphone application that will provide students with on demand location specific information about healthy lifestyle choices