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MyStudentBody.com-Nutrition is an effective internet-based program that may have wide applicability on college campuses for nutrition education and promoting change in health behaviors.

Background Approximately 70,000 adolescents and young adults (AYA) are diagnosed with cancer each year in the United States. Sarcomas carry a particularly high symptom burden and are some of the most common cancers among AYA. Recent work has documented significant levels of unmet needs among AYA with cancer, particularly the need for psychosocial support. Mobile technology may be a cost-effective and efficient way to deliver a psychosocial intervention to AYA with cancer and cancer survivors. Objective The two aims of this study were to (1) develop a pilot version of a mobile-based mindfulness and social support program and (2) evaluate program usage and acceptability. An exploratory aim was to examine change in psychosocial outcomes. Methods Thirty-seven AYA with sarcoma or sarcoma survivors, parents, and health care providers participated in the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 AYA, parents of five of the adolescents, and six health care providers. Themes from the interviews helped to inform the development of a mobile-based mindfulness pilot program and a companion Facebook-based social support group. Twenty AYA consented to participate in a single-arm pre-post evaluation of the program; 17 downloaded the app and joined the Facebook group. Seven of these participants had participated in the semistructured interviews. Six additional health care providers consented to participate in the evaluation stage. Results On average, participants completed 16.9 of the 28 unique sessions and used the mindfulness app for a mean 10.2 (SD 8.2) days during the 28-day evaluation period. The majority of participants (16/17) engaged in the social group and posted at least one reply to the moderator’s prompts. The mean number of responses per person to the moderator of the social group was 15.2 of 31 (49%, range 0%-97%). Both AYA and health care providers responded positively to the Mindfulness for Resilience in Illness program and offered useful recommendations for improvements. Exploratory psychosocial analyses indicated there were no significant differences from pretest to posttest on measures of perceived social support, mindfulness, body image, or psychological functioning. Conclusions This study offers preliminary support for the feasibility and acceptability of a mobile-based mindfulness and Facebook-based social support program for AYA with sarcoma. The feedback from AYA and health care providers will assist in creating a fully developed intervention. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03130751; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03130751

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BACKGROUND: The study goal was to develop and test the effectiveness of a brief online education and support program for female infertility patients. METHODS: A randomized-controlled trial was conducted. Using a Solomon-four group design, 190 female patients were recruited from three US fertility centers and were randomized into two experimental and two no-treatment control groups. The psychological outcomes assessed included infertility distress, infertility self-efficacy, decisional conflict, marital cohesion and coping style. Program dosage and satisfaction were also assessed at four weeks follow-up. RESULTS: Women exposed to the online program significantly improved in the area of social concerns (P 5 0.038) related to infertility distress, and felt more informed about a medical decision with which they were contending (P 5 0.037). Trends were observed for decreased global stress (P 5 0.10), sexual concerns (P 5 0.059), distress related to child-free living (P 5 0.063), increased infertility selfefficacy (P 5 0.067) and decision making clarity (P 5 0.079). A dosage response was observed in the experimental groups for women who spent >60 min online for decreased global stress (P 5 0.028) and increased self efficacy (P 5 0.024). CONCLUSIONS: This evidence-based eHealth program for women experiencing infertility suggests that a web-based patient education intervention can have beneficial effects in several psychological domains and may be a cost effective resource for fertility practices.

Mobile interventions promoting positive body image are lacking. This study presents a randomized controlled evaluation of BodiMojo, a mobile application (app) intervention grounded in self-compassion to promote positive body image. A sample of 274 adolescents, mean (SD) age = 18.36 (1.34) years, 74% female, were allocated to a control group or used BodiMojo for 6 weeks. Appearance esteem, body image flexibility, appearance comparison, mood, and self-compassion were assessed at baseline, 6, and 12 weeks. Significant time by group interactions emerged for appearance esteem and self-compassion, with appearance esteem and self-compassion increasing in the intervention relative to the control group. These findings provide preliminary support for BodiMojo, a cost-effective mobile app for positive body image.

Text messaging is the primary mode of communication among adolescents and young adults. According to recent survey data, the majority of teenagers (78%) have a cell phone, with almost half of those (47%) owning a smartphone. 1 Adolescents "out-text" any other age group, with an average of 3364 texts per month, followed by young adults in the amount of texts sent per month. 2 There is an enormous opportunity in health education, prevention, and intervention research to capitalize on this activity and to assess the feasibility and benefits of mobile health (mHealth) programs among adolescents. 3,4 Adolescents and young adults with diabetes represent an important group for mHealth initiatives. Diabetes self-care behaviors are aimed at normalizing blood glucose levels in efforts to prevent the development of both acute and chronic complications. However, despite the need to optimize blood glucose levels to preserve health, and with many new treatment technologies that assist in this, many adolescents and young adults fail to achieve the recommended glycemic outcomes. 5-7 Furthermore, overweight and obesity are particular challenges for adolescents and young adults in general and for those with diabetes, both type 1 and type 2. 8,9 Diabetes management is particularly difficult during adolescence and emerging adulthood due to many reasons, including the effect of puberty during adolescence on glycemic control, 10 and many behavioral and psychological factors that contribute to deterioration of blood glucose levels. 11,12 Challenges facing adolescents include difficulties adhering to the numerous aspects of diabetes self-care including frequent glucose monitoring, insulin administration, diet, and exercise, 13-15 peer-related concerns (eg, worry about what friends think about diabetes, avoidance of diabetes self-care tasks in the presence of peers and coworkers), 16-18 and depression. 19-21

This study tested the efficacy of an Internet-based health promotion program, BodiMojo, designed to promote positive body image in adolescents. Participants were 178 students (mean age 15.2 years, 67.6% ethnic minority) in three public high schools. Intervention groups used BodiMojo for four weekly health class periods, while controls participated in their usual health curriculum. Body image measures were given at baseline, post-intervention, and 3 months. Girls reported decreased body dissatisfaction (p < .05), decreased physical appearance comparison (p < .05), and increased appearance satisfaction (p < .05), relative to controls. Effects were not maintained at 3 month follow-up. No significant differences were found between the intervention and control groups with boys. Moderation analyses suggested positive effects for diverse adolescents as well as those who were overweight or indicated baseline high body dissatisfaction. BodiMojo appears to be modestly effective in decreasing body image concerns among adolescent girls in the short term.