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other·pediatrics, public health, family medicine, clinical trial, observational study·PMC10257104

Evaluation of an mHealth Intervention (Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums) Designed With and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers: Engagement and Acceptability Study

JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting · 8 authors, 4 centres

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TL;DR

A pilot study evaluated engagement and acceptability of a culturally co-developed mHealth program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers. The program was found to be useful and culturally appropriate, with SMS text messages showing the highest engagement.

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This pilot study assessed engagement and acceptability of the 'Growin' Up Healthy Jarjums' mHealth program, co-developed with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mothers in New South Wales. The program included a web-based application, a Facebook page, and SMS text messages, provided to 41 mothers and 6 health professionals for 4 weeks. Engagement was measured via usage metrics for each component, and acceptability was assessed through post-test interviews and focus groups. Results showed that 76% of mothers accessed the application, though many faced technical difficulties with the web-based format. SMS text messages had no opt-outs, and the Facebook page received 49 likes and 51 followers. Qualitatively, mothers reported the program was useful, culturally appropriate, and easy to use, with 94% finding it useful. Limitations include the small sample size, the web-based application's technical barriers limiting app feedback, and the pilot's focus on acceptability rather than health outcomes. The study concludes that a multimodal approach is valuable and indicates the need for a future effectiveness trial.

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other

SPECIALTY

pediatrics

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AI pipeline

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ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10257104

Evaluation of an mHealth Intervention (Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums) Designed With and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers: Engagement and Acceptability Study

JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting

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ABSTRACT

Background Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women have access to and interest in mobile health (mHealth), although few culturally relevant, evidence-based mHealth programs are available. We codeveloped an mHealth program in New South Wales with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women, focusing on women’s and children's health and well-being. Objective This study aims to assess the engagement with and acceptability of the Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums program among mothers caring for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged <5 years and assess the acceptability of the program among professionals. Methods Women were given access to Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums—a web-based application, a Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc) page, and SMS text messages—for 4 weeks. Short videos of health professionals presenting health information were tested within the application and on the Facebook page. Engagement with the application was examined through the number of log-ins, page views, and links used on the application. Engagement with the Facebook page was examined through likes, follows, comments, and the reach of posts. Engagement with the SMS text messages was examined through the number of mothers who opted out, and engagement with the videos was examined through the number of plays and videos watched and duration of the video watched. The acceptability of the program was examined through posttest interviews with mothers and focus groups with professionals. Results A total of 47 participants joined the study (n=41, 87%, mothers and n=6, 13%, health professionals). Interviews were completed by 78% (32/41) of the women and 100% (6/6) health professionals. Of the 41 mothers, 31 (76%) women accessed the application, 13 (42%) scrolled the main page only, and 18 (58%) clicked on other pages. There were 48 plays and 6 completions of the 12 videos. The Facebook page received 49 page likes and 51 followers. The post with the most reach was a supportive and affirming cultural post. No participants opted out of the SMS text messages. Almost all mothers (30/32, 94%) reported that Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums was useful, and all mothers reported that the program was culturally appropriate and easy to use. Of the 32 mothers, 6 (19%) mothers reported technical problems with accessing the application. Moreover, 44% (14/32) of mothers suggested improvements to the application. All the women reported that they would recommend the program to other families. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums program was perceived useful and culturally appropriate. SMS text messages had the highest engagement, followed by the Facebook page and then the application. This study identified areas for technical and engagement-related improvements to the application. A trial is needed to assess the effectiveness of the Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums program at improving health outcomes.

CITATION EXPORT

Sarah Jane Perkes, Belinda Huntriss, Noelene Skinner et al.. Evaluation of an mHealth Intervention (Growin’ Up Healthy Jarjums) Designed With and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Mothers: Engagement and Acceptability Study. JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting. (2023). https://doi.org/10.2196/43673

AUTHORS

8 · 4 CENTRES

Sarah Jane Perkes, Belinda Huntriss, Noelene Skinner, Bernise Leece, Rosie Dobson, Joerg Mattes, Kerry Hall, Billie Bonevski

1 Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute College of Medicine and Public Health Flinders University Bedford Park, South Australia Australia
2 School of Medicine and Public Health College of Health, Medicine and Wellbeing University of Newcastle New South Wales Australia
3 National Institute for Health Innovation University of Auckland Auckland New Zealand
4 First Peoples Health Unit, Griffith University Southport Australia

EDITOR / REVIEWER

Sherif Badawy, Vicki Kerrigan, Melanie Cozad