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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2020 Jun 19;17(12):4414.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph17124414.

Randomised Controlled Feasibility Study of the MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes Smartphone App for Reducing Prolonged Sitting Time in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Daniel P Bailey  1   2   3 , Lucie H Mugridge  3 , Feng Dong  4   5 , Xu Zhang  5 , Angel M Chater  3
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Randomised Controlled Feasibility Study of the MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes Smartphone App for Reducing Prolonged Sitting Time in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Daniel P Bailey et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of a self-regulation smartphone app for reducing prolonged sitting in people with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). This was a two-arm, randomised, controlled feasibility trial. The intervention group used the MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes smartphone app for 8 weeks. The app uses a number of behaviour change techniques aimed at reducing and breaking up sitting time. Eligibility, recruitment, retention, and completion rates for the outcomes (sitting, standing, stepping, and health-related measures) assessed trial feasibility. Interviews with participants explored intervention acceptability. Participants with T2DM were randomised to the control (n = 10) and intervention groups (n = 10). Recruitment and retention rates were 71% and 90%, respectively. The remaining participants provided 100% of data for the study measures. The MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes app was viewed as acceptable for reducing and breaking up sitting time. There were preliminary improvements in the number of breaks in sitting per day, body fat %, glucose tolerance, attitude, intention, planning, wellbeing, and positive and negative affect in favour of the intervention group. In conclusion, the findings indicate that it would be feasible to deliver and evaluate the efficacy of the MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes app for breaking up sitting time and improving health outcomes in a full trial.

Keywords: behaviour change; glucose; health apps; health coaching; sedentary behaviour; theory of planned behaviour.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
MyHealthAvatar-Diabetes app sitting suite.
Figure 2
Figure 2
CONSORT diagram of participant progression through the study [29].
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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