TY - JOUR
T1 - Sign of the times
T2 - Community engagement to refine a cardiovascular mHealth intervention through a virtual focus group series during the COVID-19 Pandemic
AU - Brewer, La Princess C.
AU - Cyriac, Jissy
AU - Kumbamu, Ashok
AU - Burke, Lora E.
AU - Jenkins, Sarah
AU - Hayes, Sharonne N.
AU - Jones, Clarence
AU - Cooper, Lisa A.
AU - Patten, Christi A.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD) (Grant No. R21 MD013490-01), Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) (Grant No. UL1 TR000135) from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) to Mayo Clinic and the Mayo Clinic Center for Health Equity and Community Engagement in Research. Dr Brewer was supported by the American Heart Association-Amos Medical Faculty Development Program (Grant No. 19AMFDP35040005), NCATS (CTSA Grant No. KL2 TR002379), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) (Grant No. CDC-DP18-1817) during the implementation of this work. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of NCATS, NIH, or CDC. The funding bodies had no role in study design; in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.
Publisher Copyright:
© The Author(s) 2022.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Background: African-Americans are underrepresented in mobile health intervention research studies which can perpetuate health inequities and the digital divide. A community-based, user-centered approach to designing mobile health interventions may increase their sociocultural relevance and effectiveness, especially with increased smartphone use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We aimed to refine an existing mobile health intervention via a virtual focus group series. Methods: African-American community members (n = 15) from churches in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester, Minnesota were enrolled in a virtual (via videoconferencing), three-session focus group series over five months to refine a cardiovascular health-focused mobile health application (FAITH! [Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health!] App). Participants accessed the app via their smartphones and received a Fitbit synced to the app. Participants engaged with multimedia cardiovascular health-focused education modules, a sharing board for social networking, and diet/physical activity self-monitoring. Participant feedback on app features prompted iterative revisions to the FAITH! App. Primary outcomes were app usability (assessed via Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale range: 0–5) and user satisfaction. Results: Participants (mean age [SD]: 56.9 [12.3] years, 86.7% female) attended a mean 2.8 focus groups (80% attended all sessions). The revised FAITH! App exceeded the goal Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale score threshold of ≥4 (mean: 4.39, range: 3.20–4.95). Participants positively rated updated app content, visual appeal, and use of social incentives to maintain engagement. Increasing user control and refinement of the moderated sharing board were identified as areas for future improvement. Conclusions: Community-partnered, virtual focus groups can optimize usability and increase participant satisfaction of mobile health lifestyle interventions that aim to promote cardiovascular health in African-Americans.
AB - Background: African-Americans are underrepresented in mobile health intervention research studies which can perpetuate health inequities and the digital divide. A community-based, user-centered approach to designing mobile health interventions may increase their sociocultural relevance and effectiveness, especially with increased smartphone use during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. We aimed to refine an existing mobile health intervention via a virtual focus group series. Methods: African-American community members (n = 15) from churches in Minneapolis-St. Paul and Rochester, Minnesota were enrolled in a virtual (via videoconferencing), three-session focus group series over five months to refine a cardiovascular health-focused mobile health application (FAITH! [Fostering African-American Improvement in Total Health!] App). Participants accessed the app via their smartphones and received a Fitbit synced to the app. Participants engaged with multimedia cardiovascular health-focused education modules, a sharing board for social networking, and diet/physical activity self-monitoring. Participant feedback on app features prompted iterative revisions to the FAITH! App. Primary outcomes were app usability (assessed via Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale range: 0–5) and user satisfaction. Results: Participants (mean age [SD]: 56.9 [12.3] years, 86.7% female) attended a mean 2.8 focus groups (80% attended all sessions). The revised FAITH! App exceeded the goal Health Information Technology Usability Evaluation Scale score threshold of ≥4 (mean: 4.39, range: 3.20–4.95). Participants positively rated updated app content, visual appeal, and use of social incentives to maintain engagement. Increasing user control and refinement of the moderated sharing board were identified as areas for future improvement. Conclusions: Community-partnered, virtual focus groups can optimize usability and increase participant satisfaction of mobile health lifestyle interventions that aim to promote cardiovascular health in African-Americans.
KW - African-Americans
KW - Mobile health lifestyle intervention
KW - cardiovascular health
KW - community–academic partnership
KW - user-centered design
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U2 - 10.1177/20552076221110537
DO - 10.1177/20552076221110537
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85134327388
SN - 2055-2076
VL - 8
JO - Digital Health
JF - Digital Health
ER -