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Mendoza K, Villalobos-Daniel VE, Jáuregui A, Valero-Morales I, Hernández-Alcaraz C, Zacarías-Alejandro N, Alarcon-Guevara RO, Barquera S. Development of a crowdsourcing- and gamification-based mobile application to collect epidemiological information and promote healthy lifestyles in Mexico. Sci Rep 2024; 14:6174. [PMID: 38486091 PMCID: PMC10940696 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-56761-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2023] [Accepted: 03/11/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024] Open
Abstract
We developed a mobile application to promote healthy lifestyles and collect non-communicable disease (NCD) data in Mexico. Its theoretical foundations are supported by a framework-guided literature review. With design sprints, Scrum, Model-View-Controller, and Representational State Transfer architecture, we operationalized evidence-based nutrition/physical activity information into a crowdsourcing- and gamification-based application. The application was piloted for three months to monitor the response of 520 adults. Potential improvements were characterized, considering benchmarking, expert guidance, and standards. Salud Activa (English: Active Health) has two crowdsourcing modules: Nutritional scanner, scanning products' bar codes, providing nutritional data, and allowing new product registry feeding our databases; Surveys, comprising gradually-released NCD questions. Three intervention modules were generated: Drinks diary, a beverage assessment component to receive hydration recommendations; Step counter, monitoring users' steps via Google Fit/Health-iOS; Metabolic Avatar, interconnecting modules and changing as a function of beverage and step records. The 3-month median of Salud Activa use was seven days (IQR = 3-12), up to 35% of participants completed a Survey section, and 157 food products were registered through Nutritional scanner. Better customization might benefit usability and user engagement. Quantitative and qualitative data will enhance Salud Activa's design, user uptake, and efficacy in interventions delivered through this platform.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kenny Mendoza
- Department of Nutrition, Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Víctor Eduardo Villalobos-Daniel
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
- Department of Noncommunicable Diseases and Mental Health, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, DC, USA
| | - Alejandra Jáuregui
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Isabel Valero-Morales
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
- Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - César Hernández-Alcaraz
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | | | - Ricardo Omar Alarcon-Guevara
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico
| | - Simón Barquera
- Center for Nutrition and Health Research (CINyS), National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico.
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