Currently submitted to: JMIR Formative Research
Date Submitted: Mar 8, 2026
Open Peer Review Period: Mar 11, 2026 - May 6, 2026
(currently open for review)
Warning: This is an author submission that is not peer-reviewed or edited. Preprints - unless they show as "accepted" - should not be relied on to guide clinical practice or health-related behavior and should not be reported in news media as established information.
Family-Centered WeChat Mini-Program for Adolescent Sugar Intake Control: Theory-Driven Development and Consensus-Based Design
ABSTRACT
Background:
Despite the fact that the primary cause of adolescent dental caries is high levels of sugar intake, a significant portion of digital interventions lacks the potential to affect the domestic settings where eating patterns are formed. New mHealth tools are sometimes lacking in theoretical richness and omissive of the family unit, providing a great gap in behavioral support.
Objective:
The aim of this objective was to address these constraints by creating and testing the Family-Centered Sugar-Control Mini-Program (FCSC-MP) achievement of providing sustained sugar intake control by applying the theory-informed family collaboration via a WeChat-based platform.
Methods:
we operationalized an integrated behavioral model that is a synthesis of the Self-Determination Theory (SDT), Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). To enhance this scheme, we organized two rounds of Delphi consultation involving 15 professionals in the field of public health, clinical dentistry as well as medical informatics. Scientific rigour and feasible assessment of the program were conducted with the help of the Kendall coordination coefficient (W) and the content validity indices (I-CVI, S-CVI).
Results:
A high level of expert response (100%) was also achieved and high consensus (Kendall W = 0.105-0.107, P＜0.05). Remarkably enough, the last six-module framework, including Family Account & Sharing, Adaptive Goal Management, Gamified Challenges, a Knowledge Hub, Multi-Tiered Rewards, and a Progress Dashboard demonstrated good content validity as the S-CVI of the framework has an average of 0.93. Combined, these modules serve as an ecosystem with synergy, where family support becomes not a passive element, but a deliberate intervention mechanism.
Conclusions:
Our work proves the fact that FCSC-MP is able to bridge the gap between abstract behavior theory and user-oriented digital design. Through a set of multi-theory mechanisms embedded in a unified, family-based unit of digital functionality, we provide a scalable and tested framework of how to handle the eating habits of adolescents in the digital era. Clinical Trial: N/A
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