Abstract: The Health4Life Initiative: An Ehealth Intervention to Reduce Multiple Risk Behaviours Among Secondary School Students (Society for Prevention Research 27th Annual Meeting)

Schedule:

Tuesday, May 28, 2019

Pacific D/L (Hyatt Regency San Francisco)

* noted as presenting author

Katrina Champion, PhD, Visiting Postdoctoral Fellow, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Nicola C Newton, PhD, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Maree Teesson, PhD, Professor, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Cyanna McGowan, MPH, Research Assistant, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

Frances Kay-Lambkin, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

Cath Chapman, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Louise Thornton, PhD, Research Fellow, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia

Tim Slade, PhD, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney, Sydney, Australia

Katherine Mills, PhD, Associate Professor, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia

Matthew Sunderland, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia

Steve Allsop, PhD, Professor, Curtin University, Perth, Australia

Leanne Hides, PhD, Professor, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

Nyanda McBride, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, Curtin University, Bentley, Australia

Judy Bauer, PhD, Associate Professor, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia

Belinda Parmenter, PhD, Senior Research Fellow, University of New South Wales, Randwick, Australia

Bonnie Spring, PhD, Professor, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL

David Lubans, PhD, Professor, University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia

Lauren Gardner, PhD, Research Program Officer, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia

The Health4Life Team, N/A, UNSW Sydney, Randwick, Australia

Introduction: Smoking, alcohol use, poor diet, and physical inactivity are key determinants of chronic disease. Recently, recreational screen time and unhealthy sleep have also been identified as key risk factors for poor health. These six risk factors (the “Big 6”) are highly prevalent among youth, commonly co-occur, and become entrenched by adulthood. Though existing prevention programs have shown promising results, no effective eHealth program has been developed to simultaneously target all six behavioral risk factors among this population.

Methods: This study aims to develop and evaluate the Health4Life intervention, a universal school-based prevention program for secondary school students (aged 12-15). Grounded in principles of social influence and self-determination theories, the intervention consists of: 1) A universal, online program delivered via interactive cartoons for all students, 2) A smartphone application for self-monitoring and goal-setting, and 3) A booster app, delivered to students who remain ‘at-risk’ as they progress throughout school. Intervention development is currently underway; scoping activities include a systematic review of existing eHealth multiple health behavior change (MHBC) interventions targeting the Big 6, an online survey to understand health beliefs, knowledge and technology use among students, and consultation with multidisciplinary experts. A cluster randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be run in 80 Australian schools to evaluate the intervention in 2019.

Results: This presentation will outline the co-development process of Health4Life and the protocol for the RCT. The systematic review (which identified 22 studies) found that effective programs typically included a web-based tailoring component to provide youth with normative or stage-matched feedback and were most effective in modifying diet and physical activity. A total of 815 students completed the online survey (mean age=13.39; 84% female). The majority of participants rated their own health as ‘good or ‘very good’ (75%), yet most were not meeting national guidelines for the Big 6 (e.g. 89% did not eat enough vegetables and 88% did not meet guidelines for physical activity. Additionally, students had poor knowledge of the recommended guidelines for the Big 6 (% incorrect): physical activity (74%), screen time (51%), sleep (63%), alcohol (90%), fruit (65%) and vegetable intake (67%).

Conclusion: The Health4Life intervention aims to address knowledge gaps identified in the online survey and to bridge evidence gaps that were highlighted in the systematic review. Once developed, Health4Life will be the first eHealth intervention to concurrently target six key lifestyle risk factors among adolescents, prior to the onset of chronic disease.

Abstract: The Health4Life Initiative: An Ehealth Intervention to Reduce Multiple Risk Behaviours Among Secondary School Students (Society for Prevention Research 27th Annual Meeting)

33 The Health4Life Initiative: An Ehealth Intervention to Reduce Multiple Risk Behaviours Among Secondary School Students