(OR07-02-23) Feasibility and Acceptability of a Self-Monitoring, Online Behavior Change Intervention To Promote Healthy Diets and Physical Activity of Young Adults

Objectives: To assess the feasibility of self-monitoring and changes in theory-based determinants of behavior change across a 9-week, tailored online intervention in young adults.

Methods: A convenience sample of young adults participated in Mindful-U, an internet-based intervention aligned with the Information, Motivation, Behavioral Skills (IMB) framework. Adults were recruited via an online survey that delivered tailored messages and then invited to an online goal-setting session with an RD. Each participant set and agreed to 3 goals to improve their diet and physical activity, or related health goals (e.g., sleep quality, stress). Participants received brief tailored behavioral messages (email or text) relating to each goal in a 3-week block, receiving 3 messages/week for 9 weeks. The messages communicated tips to support the participant’s goals and preferred learning style. For self-monitoring, participants were asked to report the information gained from each message, their willingness to work on the goal, and confidence to achieve the goal. A benchmark goal for feasibility was 50-70% of participants completing the self-monitoring. A 2-way repeated measures ANOVA was used to assess change in information, motivation, and behavioral skills ratings.

Results: 58 were eligible and 53 completed the goal-setting session. For the 9-week intervention, 33 completed the ratings for all 3 goals, 9 completed ratings for 2 goals, 7 completed ratings for 1 goal, and 4 did not complete any ratings. Although ratings of learning new information declined significantly from weeks 1 to 3 for each goal, all fell within the acceptable range (≥agree). For willingness to work on the goals, ratings averaged within the “like to” range, yet showed significant declines from goal 1 to 3 and across the weeks (week 1 >week 2 >week 3). While confidence to achieve the intended goal did not change significantly across weeks or goals, each rating fell within the acceptable range (≥very confident).

Conclusions: Online self-monitoring with the IMB constructs across an online intervention was feasible in a sample of young adults. Although participants rated favorably on the IMB constructs, the reported decrease in motivation to work on goals could be addressed with additional tailored feedback to further reinforce motivation to behavior change.

Funding Sources: USDA/NIFA/Hatch