Low physical activity levels contribute to African American men experiencing health
      disparities across a number of chronic diseases. Studies have been effective in increasing
      physical activity levels in African American men; but few have targeted maintenance of
      behavior change and none have utilized emerging technologies. The purpose of the current
      study is to further develop a mobile phone application for African American men that will
      help them initiate and maintain their physical activity levels.

Physical Activity Smartphone App for African American Men (FitBros) Phase I

Exercise

Health Behavior

Technology

Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable risk factor for a number of preventable chronic
      diseases, including cardiovascular disease, strokes, obesity, and diabetes. These conditions
      constitute health disparities for African American men. Behavioral interventions have proven
      to be effective in promoting increases in physical activity. While behavior change programs
      have been shown to assist participants in sustaining behavior change, very few programs have
      specifically targeted African American men. The use of mHealth, as opposed to other avenues
      of intervention delivery, is based on published reports documenting that African Americans
      perceive mobile technology as an acceptable means of intervention delivery. In addition,
      ownership of smartphones and the use of text messaging are highest among African Americans
      compared to other ethnic groups. Therefore, a mHealth intervention targeting African American
      men seems feasible and potentially effective. Our preliminary data show that a PA maintenance
      smartphone app for African American men that contains self-monitoring, goal-setting,
      reinforcement, and behavioral lessons was well received by this population. However, the
      qualitative data revealed that the men believed additional components were necessary to fully
      tailor the app for African American men, including personalization, chronic disease health
      information, dietary information, competition, and incentives. In addition, the investigators
      will tailor the intervention to the sociocultural needs of African American men. The purpose
      of the Fast-Track STTR is to incorporate these elements within an existing smartphone app.
      The FitBrothers app will be developed first through this Phase I consisting of (1) iterative
      focus groups, (2) developing a conceptual model, and (3) conducting beta testing. FitBrothers
      will address an unmet need in the marketplace as it will be the first smartphone app that is
      targeted toward PA adoption and maintenance in African American men. The fact that mHealth is
      acceptable to- and the fact that the application will be developed in collaboration with
      African American men, leads us to hypothesize that African American men will view the mHealth
      intervention as acceptable, feasible, and effective. The Fast-Track STTR proposal will be led
      by a team that has worked together previously and includes researchers and multimedia
      developers from Klein Buendel, Inc. (KB), Georgetown University, and Pennington Biomedical
      Research Center.

Focus Groups to Refine MobileMen App Content

Beta testing of MobileMen App Prototype

Smartphone App to Increase and Maintain Physical Activity in African American Men (FitBrothers) Phase I

Notes from focus group members include perceptions, ease of use, and interest in the app design/features and identified additional or unnecessary features for adopting and maintaining physical activity (PA). Notes are consolidated and utilized for qualitative analysis via a thematic analytic approach.

Notes from participants responses and recordings of their movements on the device screen provide feedback on the prototype. Satisfaction and helpfulness of app components is measured by a 14-question posttest survey.

Usability is assessed by the 10-item System Usability Scale (SUS).

Focus groups are conducted virtually to refine content in the mobile app for African American men. African American men are recruited in Louisiana and Washington, DC and surrounding areas, using via listservs, ResearchMatch, social media, community events, local networking, and word of mouth.

The prototype MobileMen app is evaluated for feasibility, acceptability, and usability in semi-structured interviews with African American men recruited in Louisiana who meet eligibility criteria similar to those used for the focus groups

Physical Activity Smartphone App for African American Men (FitBros) Phase I

About this trial

Study ID

Status

Type

Placebo

Accepting

Trial Timing

What is this trial about?

What are the Participation Requirements?

Locations

Location

Status