JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

African American men are at a higher risk for serious health conditions like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and stroke compared to non-Hispanic White men. Physical activity (PA) is a modifiable health behavior that has been shown to decrease chronic disease risk, yet PA engagement is alarmingly low in African American men. Interventions to improve PA engagement are effective in a number of populations; very few have been tailored to the unique needs of African American men. Even fewer have leveraged mobile health applications (apps), despite African American men’s interest in and willingness to use such technologies for health improvement.

Objective:

This comparative effectiveness trial aims to evaluate MobileMen, a PA promotion app tailored to the needs and preferences of African American men. The trial will compare MobileMen to a commercially available PA promotion app with similar features but lacks culturally tailored components.

Methods:

We will recruit a sample of “low active” (accumulating < 7,500 steps per day) African American men (n=100) aged > 30 years from Baton Rouge, Louisiana and surrounding communities. All participants will be given a Fitbit Charge 6 wearable activity tracker to assess daily PA and steps, and will be randomized to either the intervention app, MobileMen), or the comparator app, a commercially available PA tracking app called Stridekick. Stridekick has similar features to MobileMen but was not intentionally designed for African American men. The intervention period is 6 months during which participants will interact with their assigned mobile app. MobileMen includes features such as digital badges earned for PA, tangible prizes like exercise equipment, challenges among participants, goal setting, and nutrition, PA, and behavior change educational information in text, audio, and video formats. Participants will complete assessments at baseline and 6-months post-randomization. Assessments include objective measurements of daily steps and minutes of moderate to vigorous PA, quality of life, dietary measures, self-efficacy for fruit and vegetable consumption and PA, and autonomous motivation for PA.

Results:

This trial is in the start-up phase. MobileMen development and usability testing was completed in August 2024. Recruitment efforts began in October 2024. The trial and associated data analyses and interpretation are planned to be completed by Fall 2025.

Conclusions:

Mobile apps are a widely accessible means to disseminate culturally tailored PA promotion interventions to various populations, including African American men. MobileMen has the potential to impact PA engagement in African American men, which would dramatically improve the overall health and chronic disease risk in this underrepresented group.