In their own words: A qualitative study exploring influences on the food choices of university students

Lambert, Michelle; Chivers, Paola; Farringdon, Fiona

doi:10.1002/hpja.180

Cited by 32 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…The physical activity module did not require much explanation, asking merely for activity time in minutes. College students are less likely to understand serving sizes and numbers of servings [ 35 - 37 ], which may account for the higher viewership of this presentation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study

Krzyzanowski¹,

Kizakevich²,

Duren-Winfield³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

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Background With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet and as the main computing system of apps, there is a growing market for mobile health apps to provide self-care advice. Their effectiveness with regard to diet and fitness tracking, for example, needs to be examined. The majority of American adults fail to meet daily recommendations for healthy behavior. Testing user engagement with an app in a controlled environment can provide insight into what is effective and not effective in an app focused on improving diet and exercise. Objective We developed Rams Have Heart, a mobile app, to support a cardiovascular disease (CVD) intervention course. The app tracks healthy behaviors, including fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, throughout the day. This paper aimed to present its functionality and evaluated adherence among the African American college student population. Methods We developed the app using the Personal Health Informatics and Intervention Toolkit, a software framework. Rams Have Heart integrates self-reported health screening with health education, diary tracking, and user feedback modules to acquire data and assess progress. The parent study, conducted at a historically black college and university-designated institution in southeastern United States, consisted of a semester-long intervention administered as an academic course in the fall, for 3 consecutive years. Changes were made after the cohort 1 pilot study, so results only include cohorts 2 and 3, comprising a total of 115 students (n=55 intervention participants and n=54 control participants) aged from 17 to 24 years. Data collected over the study period were transferred using the secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure protocol and stored in a secure Structured Query Language server database accessible only to authorized persons. SAS software was used to analyze the overall app usage and the specific results collected. Results Of the 55 students in the intervention group, 27 (49%) students in cohort 2 and 25 (45%) in cohort 3 used the Rams Have Heart app at least once. Over the course of the fall semester, app participation dropped off gradually until exam week when most students no longer participated. The average fruit and vegetable intake increased slightly, and activity levels decreased over the study period. Conclusions Rams Have Heart was developed to allow daily tracking of fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity to support a CVD risk intervention for a student demographic susceptible to obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. We conducted an analysis of app usage, function, and user results. Although a mobile app provides privacy and flexibility for user participation in a research study, Rams Have Heart did not improve compliance or user outcomes. Health-oriented research studies relying on apps in support of user goals need further evaluation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study

Krzyzanowski¹,

Kizakevich²,

Duren-Winfield³

et al. 2020

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There was a disconnect between the holistic view of health of these YA and the usual approaches of health promotion, focussing on specific aspects of health. The YA sentiments on the AGHE echoed previous research where Government nutrition messages often fail to grasp the attention of the public and inspire behaviour change as they are viewed as incorrect, biased and inconsistent [50], or simply not relevant to them [20]. The participants also mentioned conflicting nutrition messages online and on SM as a hindrance to knowing how to eat healthily.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

“…Some of the suggested strategies included making healthy eating cost effective, available in a location convenient to them such as university, and involving friends to make healthy eating a normative behaviour. Whereas in another study, YA were found to want nutrition information related to weight loss and serving size [20]. Previous public health initiatives have focused on promoting knowledge of fruit and vegetables, but have had a low to modest ability to sustain behaviour change [51].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…The participants also mentioned conflicting nutrition messages online and on SM as a hindrance to knowing how to eat healthily. Perceived constant exposure to nutrition information through SM [20] and the evolutionary nature of nutrition science likely contributes to misconceptions and conflicting information, as there is continually new research which may have contradictory findings. The media, including SM and influencers, draw different conclusions from nutrition research, particularly those who are not educated in nutrition science, leading to conflicting messages for the public to interpret [50].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Health communication theory posits that the promotion of health information to educate and empower individuals to improve their health, requires communication that is easily understood, on an accessible and appropriate platform and that resonates with the target group [18]. One such platform is social media (SM), which, as it is viewed as an acceptable method of information delivery [19,20], could be an effective way forward for health communication. Relative to commercial brands, organisations involved in health promotion have generally been slower to adapt to the ever-evolving SM environment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Language of Health of Young Australian Adults: A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of Health, Wellbeing and Health Promotion via Online Conversations

et al. 2020

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Young adults (YA) are in a critical stage of life for the encouragement of healthy behaviours such as healthy eating and exercising. This research explored Australian YA values and perceptions related to health, healthy behaviours and health promotion efforts. This qualitative analysis involved n = 166, Australian 18–24 year-olds recruited through a market research field house. Participants (63% currently studying at tertiary level) engaged in a facilitated in-depth online conversation around health and healthy eating over four weeks. LeximancerTM and manual inductive thematic coding were utilised for analysis via the lens of emerging adulthood and health communication theories. Health was seen as multi-faceted, with particular importance placed on mental health and exercise. Some participants focussed on physical appearance, often fuelled by comparison to others. Many believed that at their age and health status, adopting health-enhancing behaviours without short-term tangible benefits was not a priority. Participants did not prioritise health-enhancing behaviours due to barriers such as a perceived lack of money, knowledge and time often due to studying or working and perceived effort. Strategies they proposed to encourage healthy eating included: incentivising healthy food; quick and affordable healthy recipes; and communicating the short-term tangible benefits of healthy behaviours. There is a need for focussed health messaging that address the needs and desires of YA and directly address the barriers they face.

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Applications of social media in qualitative research in diverse public health areas

Achrekar¹,

Batra

2023

Effective Use of Social Media in Public Health

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In their own words: A qualitative study exploring influences on the food choices of university students

Cited by 32 publications

References 32 publications

Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study

Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study

Language of Health of Young Australian Adults: A Qualitative Exploration of Perceptions of Health, Wellbeing and Health Promotion via Online Conversations

Applications of social media in qualitative research in diverse public health areas

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