TY - JOUR
T1 - Digital food records in community-based interventions
T2 - Mixed-methods pilot study
AU - Fowler, Lauren A.
AU - Yingling, Leah R.
AU - Brooks, Alyssa T.
AU - Wallen, Gwenyth R.
AU - Peters-Lawrence, Marlene
AU - McClurkin, Michael
AU - Wiley, Kenneth L.
AU - Mitchell, Valerie M.
AU - Johnson, Twanda D.
AU - Curry, Kendrick E.
AU - Johnson, Allan A.
AU - Graham, Avis P.
AU - Graham, Lennox A.
AU - Powell-Wiley, Tiffany M.
N1 - Funding Information:
LAF, LRY, TMP-W were funded by the Division of Intramural Research of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. TMP-W is also funded by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities. This research was supported by the National Institutes of Health Summer Internship Program. Work with Vibrent Health was supported by contract #HHSN268201400023P.
Publisher Copyright:
© Lauren A. Fowler, Leah R Yingling, Alyssa T Brooks, Gwenyth R Wallen, Marlene Peters-Lawrence, Michael McClurkin, Kenneth L Wiley Jr, Valerie M Mitchell, Twanda D. Johnson, Kendrick E Curry, Allan A Johnson, Avis P Graham, Lennox A Graham, Tiffany M. Powell-Wiley.
PY - 2018/7
Y1 - 2018/7
N2 - Background: A pressing need exists to understand and optimize the use of dietary assessment tools that can be used in community-based participatory research (CBPR) interventions. A digital food record, which uses a mobile device to capture the dietary intake through text and photography inputs, is a particularly promising mobile assessment method. However, little is understood about the acceptability and feasibility of digital food records in CBPR and how to best tailor dietary assessment tools to the needs of a community. Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of digital food records among church-based populations in resource-limited wards of Washington, DC, USA, using a mixed-methods approach. Methods: This community-based pilot study was conducted as part of the Washington, DC Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment. Participants (n=17) received a mobile device (iPod Touch) to photodocument their dietary intake for a 3-day digital food record using a mobile app, FitNinja (Vibrent Health). The acceptability of the digital food record was explored through the thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts from a moderated focus group (n=8). In addition, the feasibility was evaluated by the percentage of participants complying with instructions (ie, capturing both before and after meal photos for at least 2 meals/day for 3 days). Results: Qualitative themes identified were related to (1) the feasibility and acceptability of the mobile device and app, including issues in recording the dietary information and difficulty with photodocumentation; (2) suggestions for additional support and training experiences; and (3) comparisons with other mobile apps. Overall, the participants accepted the digital food record by demonstrating satisfaction with the tool and intent to continue the use (eg, participants recorded an average of 5.2, SD 7, consecutive days). Furthermore, of the 17 participants, 15 photodocumented at least 1 meal during the study period and 3 fully complied with the digital food record instructions. Conclusions: This study demonstrated digital food records as an acceptable tool in CBPR and identified contributors and barriers to the feasibility of digital food records for future research. Engaging community members in the implementation of novel assessment methods allows for the tailoring of technology to the needs of the community and optimizing community-based interventions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01927783; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01927783 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/70WzaFWb6).
AB - Background: A pressing need exists to understand and optimize the use of dietary assessment tools that can be used in community-based participatory research (CBPR) interventions. A digital food record, which uses a mobile device to capture the dietary intake through text and photography inputs, is a particularly promising mobile assessment method. However, little is understood about the acceptability and feasibility of digital food records in CBPR and how to best tailor dietary assessment tools to the needs of a community. Objective: The objective of our study was to evaluate the acceptability and feasibility of digital food records among church-based populations in resource-limited wards of Washington, DC, USA, using a mixed-methods approach. Methods: This community-based pilot study was conducted as part of the Washington, DC Cardiovascular Health and Needs Assessment. Participants (n=17) received a mobile device (iPod Touch) to photodocument their dietary intake for a 3-day digital food record using a mobile app, FitNinja (Vibrent Health). The acceptability of the digital food record was explored through the thematic analysis of verbatim transcripts from a moderated focus group (n=8). In addition, the feasibility was evaluated by the percentage of participants complying with instructions (ie, capturing both before and after meal photos for at least 2 meals/day for 3 days). Results: Qualitative themes identified were related to (1) the feasibility and acceptability of the mobile device and app, including issues in recording the dietary information and difficulty with photodocumentation; (2) suggestions for additional support and training experiences; and (3) comparisons with other mobile apps. Overall, the participants accepted the digital food record by demonstrating satisfaction with the tool and intent to continue the use (eg, participants recorded an average of 5.2, SD 7, consecutive days). Furthermore, of the 17 participants, 15 photodocumented at least 1 meal during the study period and 3 fully complied with the digital food record instructions. Conclusions: This study demonstrated digital food records as an acceptable tool in CBPR and identified contributors and barriers to the feasibility of digital food records for future research. Engaging community members in the implementation of novel assessment methods allows for the tailoring of technology to the needs of the community and optimizing community-based interventions. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01927783; https://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01927783 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/70WzaFWb6).
KW - Community-based participatory research
KW - Diet
KW - Focus group
KW - Obesity
KW - Qualitative research
KW - mHealth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85060393099&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/mhealth.9729
DO - 10.2196/mhealth.9729
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85060393099
SN - 2291-5222
VL - 6
JO - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
JF - JMIR mHealth and uHealth
IS - 7
M1 - e160
ER -