JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

While there is growing evidence demonstrating the usefulness of integrating social features within mHealth approaches, little research has explored how African American women use mobile platforms to facilitate physical activity physical activity within the context of a group-based physical activity intervention.

Objective:

The primary aim of this study was to qualitatively describe how African American women used private group messaging boards on the Fitbit mobile app (e.g., the type of social and motivational strategies) during a 10-week group-based physical activity intervention. A secondary aim of this study was to quantitatively test whether greater engagement on the Fitbit mobile app (number of posts per week) was associated with greater daily physical activity (steps, total minutes of physical activity) across 10-weeks.

Methods:

Data were collected from 54 African American women who participated in the Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity (TEAM-PA) trial (Mage=51.57±13.89). Participants completed weekly in-person group sessions, set group-based weekly physical activity goals, and used the Fitbit mobile app for ongoing group communication and support, including posting in a private group. This study used a multi-methods design (qualitative and quantitative) to describe how participants used the private group messaging boards on the Fitbit mobile app and evaluate if engagement on the Fitbit app was associated with greater physical activity (steps, total minutes of physical activity) across the 10-week intervention.

Results:

The mean number of posts per week ranged from an average of 1.79±2.95 (Week 1) to 1.11±2.49 (Week 10), with a max of 5.06±7.62 posts (Week 5). A thematic content analysis revealed that the private groups reflected numerous topics including motivational strategies, cognitive strategies, group strategies, informal positive communication, and sharing pictures. The quantitative analyses revealed that participants who posted at least once per week engaged in greater steps (P = 0.006) and total minutes of physical activity (P = 0.019).

Conclusions:

Participants engaged in ongoing social support, positive communication, and vicarious learning through the Fitbit app, suggesting several important directions for future research, including potential interpersonal mechanisms and best practices for enhancing social support and physical activity among African American women. Clinical Trial: The TEAM-PA trial was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov (# NCT05519696) on August 22, 2022 prior to the enrollment of the first participant on September 12, 2022.