CREATION OF AN MHEALTH APPLICATION: TITLE: FITKIDS CREATION OF AN MHEALTH APPLICATION: TITLE: FITKIDS Jessy A George Temple University

Creation of mHealth App mHealth ◦ Allows access to health and medical information through mobile devices ◦ Promotes healthier lifestyles and enhanced healthcare quality Appy Pie ◦ Allows users to create Android and iPhone compatible apps for various purposes

FitKids Educational app Empowers parents and caregivers with information and resources regarding childhood obesity prevention FitKids can also be used by providers in the practice setting as an educational tool

Mission To increase parental awareness of the health threats of childhood obesity To decrease the prevalence of childhood obesity by enforcing healthy habits, which in turn will greatly reduce the medical cost of childhood obesity-related conditions

Vision To protect and preserve the health of children and future generations by educating parents To increase parental self-efficacy in promoting obesity prevention interventions

Childhood Obesity: A Health Threat Obesity is defined as an abnormal accumulation of fat causing health complications (WHO, 2014). Affects more than 30 percent of children, making it the most common chronic disease of childhood (Obesity Action Coalition, 2015). In the last 20 years, obesity among school- age children has quadrupled (CDC, 2014). Current cost of treating childhood obesity related conditions amounts to $14 billion (Robert Wood Johnson Foundation,2009).

Causes and Consequences Causes: ◦ Sedentary lifestyle ◦ Physical Inactivity ◦ Diet/Unhealthy Eating Habits Obese Children are at higher risk for: ◦ Diabetes ◦ Cardiovascular disease ◦ Asthma ◦ Sleep Apnea ◦ Social and Psychological Issues (bullying, low self-esteem) Additional information: can be found at links provided: &

Promote Healthy Habits Eat 5 servings of fruit and veggies every single day! ◦ Fruit Examples: apples, bananas, oranges ◦ Veggie Examples: carrots, spinach, celery Limit screen time to 2 hours or less! ◦ TV, video games, computers to 2 hrs or less ◦ Remove TV from bedroom Get at least 1 hour of physical activity! ◦ Walk or ride your bike to school ◦ Jump rope, play catch, jump, skip, dance Limit sweetened drinks to 0! ◦ Stay away from: soft drinks, soda, pop, juice, sports drinks ◦ Drink WATER! Add lime or lemon for flavor ◦ 1% or skim milk

Cost Effectiveness and Benefit Enables a cost-free, easy, and instant method of downloading information to a smart phone or tablet. It can target a large population across multiple geographic locations and pass information within a span of seconds. Education would lead to increased awareness of the health threats of obesity. This increase in awareness would lead to the adoption of healthy habits. Therefore, FitKids is the most economic and accessible method of presenting information to parents and caregivers.

Application to Nursing/providers Opportunity for community education with each patient/family encounter. Connect with patients by presenting easy to understand & concise information. Delivering quality patient care leading to improved patient outcomes. Allows in incorporating an educational intervention/teaching tool for the provider.

What I Learned? Incorporating mobile health technology in delivering medical care is cost effective, saves time and is easily adaptable to both provider and patient. An mHealth application can target specific patient population groups and reach out to a large range of consumers. Thank you!

References Centers for Disease Control. (2014). Childhood obesity facts. Retrieved from FitKids. (2015). FitKids mobile health application. Retrieved from Obesity Action Coalition. (2015). What is childhood obesity. Retrieved from children/what-is-childhood-obesityhttp:// World Health Organization. (2014). Obesity and overweight fact sheet. Retrieved from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.(2009). Facts about childhood obesity. Retrieved from FactsAboutChildhoodObesity_ pdf