See How They Grow: Testing the feasibility of a mobile app to support parents’ understanding of child growth charts

Abstract

<jats:sec id="sec001"> <jats:title>Background</jats:title> <jats:p>Mobile devices provide new opportunities for the prevention of overweight and obesity in children. We aimed to co-create and test an app that offered comprehensible feedback to parents on their child’s growth and delivered a suite of age-specific information about nutrition and activity.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec002"> <jats:title>Methods</jats:title> <jats:p>A two-phased approach was used to co-create the digital growth tool—See How They Grow—and test its feasibility. Phase one used focus groups (parents and professionals such as paediatricians and midwives) and a national on-line survey to gather requirements and build the app. Phase two involved testing the app over 12-weeks, with parents or carers of children aged ≤ 2-years. All research activities were undertaken exclusively through the app, and participants were recruited using social media and hard copy materials given to patents at a child health visit.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec003"> <jats:title>Findings</jats:title> <jats:p>Four focus groups and 101 responses to the national survey informed the features and functions to include in the final app. Two hundred and twenty-five participants downloaded the app, resulting in 208 eligible participants. Non-Māori/Non-Pacific (78%) and Māori (14%) had the highest downloads. Fifty-four per cent of participants were parents of children under 6-months. These participants were more likely to regularly use the app than those with children older than 6-months (64% vs 36%, <jats:italic>P = 0</jats:italic>.<jats:italic>011)</jats:italic>. Over half of the participants entered three measures (n = 101, 48%). Of those that completed the follow-up survey (n = 101, 48%), 72 reported that the app helped them better understand how to interpret growth charts.</jats:p> </jats:sec> <jats:sec id="sec004"> <jats:title>Conclusion</jats:title> <jats:p>The app was acceptable and with minor modifications, has the potential to be an effective tool to support parents understanding of growth trajectories for their children. A larger trial is needed to evaluate if the app can have a measurable impact on increasing knowledge and behaviour, and therefore on preventing childhood overweight and obesity.</jats:p> </jats:sec>