An App about Healthy Habits as an Educational Resource during the Pandemic

Abstract

Educational institutions and their agents play a fundamental role in improving people’s health literacy and quality of life. We intend here to describe and justify an educational resource embodied in an application for mobile devices developed through a subsidized project by the Ministry of Health (Government of Andalusia); the purpose of this app is to educate young people in healthy habits. The application was designed to be easily used in both smartphones and tablets with the aim of achieving good physical, psychological and social health. The project comprises several phases and the results we have so far show that, from an early age, health institutions and educational settings must work in partnership, increasing health literacy levels. This cooperative work combined with the use of this innovative approach presents an important potential for change in the lifestyles of younger generations. This type of intervention took on a special role in the pandemic context, allowing for the maintenance of the educational stimulus in a safe context.

Assessing the Hands-on Usability of the Healthy Jeart App Specifically Tailored to Young Users

“…Both schools and families play active roles in averting the health problems tied to poor dietary choices and a lack of physical activity, habits often ingrained from early years. Within the action plans of educational establishments, the influence of social and digital media on learning processes is an undeniable factor that cannot be overlooked [17].…”

“…The Healthy Jeart app has been acknowledged by the regional state Agency of Health Quality of Andalusia with the "Healthy App" distinction [16] and is also endorsed by the Association of Community Nursing (AEC) in the Spanish national scope. Likewise, its associated website has received the "Advanced Level Healthcare Website" accreditation seal, granted by the Andalusian Regional Agency for Healthcare Quality [17]. Additional details can be accessed on the application's website: https://www.healthyjeart.com (accessed on 7 January 2024).…”

Confirmatory Validation of an Evaluation Instrument for Interventions Based on the Healthy Habits App Healthy Jeart with Adolescents

“…Healthy Jeart is an app for young people specifically created to promote healthy life habits. Its development and distribution were justified by the increasing use of eHealth apps, and now its usefulness is strengthened by the prevailing need for having tools that allow carrying out remote and blended interventions based on technology [ 34 ]. This year, we worked on expanding the functionality of Healthy Jeart.…”

Eating habits: what foods do children between 12 and 36 months consume?

“…According to the World Health Organization (WHO), obesity remains a current concern, being considered the “21 st century epidemic”“ ( 1 ) . It is a problem to be taken into account, considering the danger it poses to people’s quality of life.…”

“…The literature and scientific evidence have been demonstrating that childhood obesity is a socio-sanitary problem, influenced by non-modifiable risk factors (genetic factors) and by other factors on which one can and should act (unhealthy eating habits, physical inactivity, or individual and family lifestyle) ( 1 , 5 - 6 ) . In Portugal, the General Directorate of Health (GDH) states that “this early influence of diet on the future expression of health is called “programming”, which, as can be seen, is not only metabolic, but also behavioral” ( 4 ) .…”