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Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Mobile health interventions for weight loss frequently use automated messaging. However, this intervention modality appears to have limited weight loss efficacy. Furthermore, data on users’ subjective experiences while receiving automated messaging–based interventions for weight loss are...

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Autores principales: Berry, Michael, Taylor, Lauren, Huang, Zhuoran, Chwyl, Christina, Kerrigan, Stephanie, Forman, Evan
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: JMIR Publications 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10660236/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37930786
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/50872
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author Berry, Michael
Taylor, Lauren
Huang, Zhuoran
Chwyl, Christina
Kerrigan, Stephanie
Forman, Evan
author_facet Berry, Michael
Taylor, Lauren
Huang, Zhuoran
Chwyl, Christina
Kerrigan, Stephanie
Forman, Evan
author_sort Berry, Michael
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: Mobile health interventions for weight loss frequently use automated messaging. However, this intervention modality appears to have limited weight loss efficacy. Furthermore, data on users’ subjective experiences while receiving automated messaging–based interventions for weight loss are scarce, especially for more advanced messaging systems providing users with individually tailored, data-informed feedback. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize the experiences of individuals with overweight or obesity who received automated messages for 6-12 months as part of a behavioral weight loss trial. METHODS: Participants (n=40) provided Likert-scale ratings of messaging acceptability and completed a structured qualitative interview (n=39) focused on their experiences with the messaging system and generating suggestions for improvement. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants found the messages most useful for summarizing goal progress and least useful for suggesting new behavioral strategies. Overall message acceptability was moderate (2.67 out of 5). From the interviews, 2 meta-themes emerged. Participants indicated that although the messages provided useful reminders of intervention goals and skills, they did not adequately capture their lived experiences while losing weight. CONCLUSIONS: Many participants found the automated messages insufficiently tailored to their personal weight loss experiences. Future studies should explore alternative methods for message tailoring (eg, allowing for a higher degree of participant input and interactivity) that may boost treatment engagement and efficacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05231824; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05231824
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spelling pubmed-106602362023-11-06 Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study Berry, Michael Taylor, Lauren Huang, Zhuoran Chwyl, Christina Kerrigan, Stephanie Forman, Evan JMIR Form Res Original Paper BACKGROUND: Mobile health interventions for weight loss frequently use automated messaging. However, this intervention modality appears to have limited weight loss efficacy. Furthermore, data on users’ subjective experiences while receiving automated messaging–based interventions for weight loss are scarce, especially for more advanced messaging systems providing users with individually tailored, data-informed feedback. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to characterize the experiences of individuals with overweight or obesity who received automated messages for 6-12 months as part of a behavioral weight loss trial. METHODS: Participants (n=40) provided Likert-scale ratings of messaging acceptability and completed a structured qualitative interview (n=39) focused on their experiences with the messaging system and generating suggestions for improvement. Interview data were analyzed using thematic analysis. RESULTS: Participants found the messages most useful for summarizing goal progress and least useful for suggesting new behavioral strategies. Overall message acceptability was moderate (2.67 out of 5). From the interviews, 2 meta-themes emerged. Participants indicated that although the messages provided useful reminders of intervention goals and skills, they did not adequately capture their lived experiences while losing weight. CONCLUSIONS: Many participants found the automated messages insufficiently tailored to their personal weight loss experiences. Future studies should explore alternative methods for message tailoring (eg, allowing for a higher degree of participant input and interactivity) that may boost treatment engagement and efficacy. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05231824; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05231824 JMIR Publications 2023-11-06 /pmc/articles/PMC10660236/ /pubmed/37930786 http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/50872 Text en ©Michael Berry, Lauren Taylor, Zhuoran Huang, Christina Chwyl, Stephanie Kerrigan, Evan Forman. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 06.11.2023. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Formative Research, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://formative.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included.
spellingShingle Original Paper
Berry, Michael
Taylor, Lauren
Huang, Zhuoran
Chwyl, Christina
Kerrigan, Stephanie
Forman, Evan
Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title_full Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title_fullStr Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title_full_unstemmed Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title_short Automated Messaging Delivered Alongside Behavioral Treatment for Weight Loss: Qualitative Study
title_sort automated messaging delivered alongside behavioral treatment for weight loss: qualitative study
topic Original Paper
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10660236/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37930786
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/50872
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