Development of tailored contents of a mobile health application to prevent the metabolic syndrome

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to develop and pilot a mobile health application, ‘NICE Health Ten’, for a tailored health behavior intervention based on intervention mapping approach and transtheoretical model to prevent metabolic syndrome for Korean adults. Methods: We applied intervention mapping approach to design development of a mobile health application. Also, transtheoretical model"s concepts such as stages of change, decisional balance, and self-efficacy were applied to develop contents of mobile health application. Pilot preintervention-postintervention analysis was conducted and total 68 subjects were recruited and used ‘NICE Health Ten’ once a week for 8 weeks. Results: Health status and recommendations were provided for each physiological and behavioral factor associated with metabolic syndrome by developed ‘NICE Health Ten’. According to the pilot testing, the significant changes of knowledge, decisional balance, self-efficacy, and stages of change distribution related to healthy physical activity, healthy diet, and moderate drinking were in 20s adults who used ‘NICE Health Ten’ except for decisional balance of moderate drinking. Conclusions: Metabolic syndrome can be prevented by implementing mobile health application intervention for health behavioral change. Also, Intervention Mapping is effective to design an intervention for metabolic syndrome.