Mobile Apps for Preschool Parents (MAPP) Study

NCT06520072 | Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: 936032017-68001-34846
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 1,200
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of Mobile Apps for Preschool Parents (MAPP) Study is to test the effectiveness of two mobile applications for parents of preschool aged children: 1) an app focused on child and family nutrition and wellness, and 2) an app focused on parents reading to their children.

Conditions

Obesity, Childhood; Nutrition, Healthy; Physical Inactivity; Sleep, Inadequate

Keywords

Mobile Application; Preschool children; Parents; Parenting; Reading

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Healthy Kids childhood obesity risk score

  Using the 19-item Healthy Kids scale, each item is coded from 1 to 5, with 1 being the least healthful and 5 being the most healthful. To calculate the childhood obesity risk score, all 19 items are summed together, ranging from 19 to 95, with higher values reflecting a more healthful, or positive, outcome.

  2 months

Secondary Outcomes (13)

• Child intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (Healthy Kids items)

  2 months

• Child intake of fruits and vegetables (Healthy Kids items)

  2 months

• Child intake of energy dense food/beverages (Healthy Kids items)

  2 months

• Child intake of dairy/calcium (Healthy Kids items)

  2 months

• Child physical activity and sedentary behavior (Healthy Kids items)

  2 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention Arm: Nutrition and wellness app

EXPERIMENTAL

The parents/guardians in this study arm will use the Children Eating Well (CHEW) mobile app focused on child and family nutrition and wellness for the first 8 weeks of the study. This app is designed to help parents/guardians of preschool-aged children to improve nutrition, physical activity, sleep, feeding children at mealtimes, and related wellness topics.

Behavioral: Children Eating Well (CHEW) mobile app

Attention Control Arm: Reading app

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

The parents/guardians this study arm will use the Beanstack mobile app (or the Bookroo app, as an alternative) focused on parents reading to their children for the first 8 weeks of the study. This app may help parents/guardians to read more to their preschool children (and other children), which is good for child learning and development.

Behavioral: Beanstalk mobile app

Interventions

Children Eating Well (CHEW) mobile app BEHAVIORAL

The target users of the CHEW app are parents/guardians of preschool aged children. The purpose of the CHEW app is to provide parents/guardians with easy, practical ways to improve nutrition and wellness among their preschool-aged children. The app provides guided goal setting and tracking tools. Parents/guardians set goals related to their preschool-aged children focused on nutrition, physical activity, sleep behaviors and parenting styles. The parents/guardians can also to set goals for themselves for behaviors related to nutrition, physical activity, sleep, and stress. The app does not have features that target children as users. The CHEW app was developed by the study team and can be downloaded for mobile devices (phones or tablets) at no cost in the Apple App Store (iOS/Apple) and the Google Play Store (Android). After downloading the CHEW app, enrolled participants must enter the Access Code provided by the study team in order to unlock the app and use it.

Intervention Arm: Nutrition and wellness app

Beanstalk mobile app BEHAVIORAL

Beanstack is free commercially-available mobile app that provides goal setting and tracking tools similar to the CHEW app, but focused on a different topic, specifically encouraging parents/guardians to read to their preschool children more frequently. In the case that a parent/guardian is not able to successfully download Beanstack to their mobile device, as a backup alternative they will be asked to use a similar free commercially-available mobile application called Bookroo. Beanstack is available to the public for mobile devices (phones or tablets) at no cost in the Apple App Store (iOS/Apple) and the Google Play Store (Android). Bookroo is a web-based application that users access via the mobile device's web browser and looks and functions like a regular mobile application. It should work on any mobile device with a browser and data/wifi access,

Also known as: Alternative: Bookroo mobile app

Attention Control Arm: Reading app

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 99 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Parent/Guardian (age 18+ years) of a 2-5 year old
• Living in United States
• Receives services at partner community organization (Organization Sample only)

You may not qualify if:

• Does not own iOS/Apple or Android mobile device (phone or tablet)
• Does not have internet access for the mobile device (data plan on device or in-home WiFi)
• Not able to successfully load and access the Intervention Arm or Attention Control Arm mobile app on the mobile device at the time of enrollment

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Pamela Hull: lead
• United States Department of Agriculture (USDA): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

University of Kentucky

Lexington, Kentucky, 40536, United States

RECRUITING

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Pediatric Obesity; Sedentary Behavior; Sleep Deprivation

Interventions

Mastication

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Obesity; Overweight; Overnutrition; Nutrition Disorders; Nutritional and Metabolic Diseases; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Behavior; Dyssomnias; Sleep Wake Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Mental Disorders

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Eating; Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; Diet, Food, and Nutrition; Physiological Phenomena; Digestive System Physiological Phenomena; Digestive System and Oral Physiological Phenomena

Study Officials

• Pamela C Hull, PhD

  University of Kentucky

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Madeline Brown, MPH

CONTACT

859-230-9164; chew@uky.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Model Details: 1. The ORGANIZATION SAMPLE has a 2-arm parallel cluster-randomized control trial design, with an attention control design. The clusters are the partner community-based organizations where participants are recruited/enrolled by study staff. The cluster is the level of randomization (not individuals). 2. The INDIVIDUAL SAMPLE has a 2-arm parallel randomized control trial design, with an attention control design. The individual parent/guardian as the level of randomization (no clusters). After completing the Baseline Survey (Parts 1 and 2), each individual parent/guardian will be randomized to the Intervention Arm or Control Arm. Both: Parents/guardians will be asked to use the assigned app for 8-weeks. Next, they will complete the Follow Up Survey, then they have the option to download the other app, if interested. For both arms, usage of the CHEW app will be tracked for up to 20 weeks after the date of study enrollment.

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 22, 2024
• First Posted: July 25, 2024
• Study Start: August 1, 2024
• Primary Completion: December 1, 2025
• Study Completion: December 1, 2025
• Last Updated: January 14, 2025

Record last verified: 2025-01

Locations

US (1)