PUBH2004 Understanding Health Behaviours : Monitor a Health Behaviour

A non-profit organization/ department (NPO) has recently received funding to launch a new health intervention. Aspart of this intervention, the organization would like to include a mobile application that can be used to monitor a health behaviour. As a health behaviour expert, you have been brought on to the team to evaluate two existing applications and provide recommendations regarding which application the organization should use.

You must specify the NPO (you can make up a name) and describe in one sentence or less their remit in terms of target audience and context. For example, ‘RRQ-WA’ who target rural and remote Queensland adults (aged 18-65 years) or the ‘UQ Welcome Department’ who target first year students from The University of Queensland.
You are to complete a review that compares and contrasts two mobile apps (Android or Apple). The chosen apps should be designed to monitor a chosen health behaviour for a target population – choose the same behaviour for both apps. You may choose apps that target a behaviour from the list below:

• Physical activity
• Sedentary behaviour
• A specific dietary behaviour
• Dental flossing
• Alcohol use
• A regular sleep schedule

You may choose the same health behaviour as other assessment in PUBH2004. If you would like to choose another health behaviour than on the list, please check with the course coordinator. If you do not have a mobile phone or one with necessary capabilities, please contact the course coordinator by email as soon as possible.
You are required to download at least one app by the end of week 2. The app must be a tool to monitor the health behaviour on at least a weekly basis and information can either be entered manually (e.g., you record the number and type of drinks/ day) or it may be recorded automatically (e.g., the app links to a maps function and records distance walked/ run). You can choose to operate both apps concurrently or engage with one app from week 2-6 and the second app from week 7 onwards.

 

Your review must include the following:
• Provide a brief definition and rationale for the target health behaviour and target population 
• Reflect on the process of monitoring health behaviour overall, including user experience 
We recommend that you keep a weekly or fortnightly diary so that you have something to refer back to. In the
first tutorial (week 2), we will cover what you might want to include.
• Appraise both apps in terms of their strengths and weaknesses as a tool for measuring health behaviour,
comparing and contrasting the apps. You should specify your rationale for the measurement, e.g., to help assess
prevalence of the behaviour (single sentence).
• Use research to justify the key points of comparison. You might consider research with other measures of the
health behaviour with known reliability or validity to help identify strengths and weaknesses 
• Provide a summary and argue for a recommendation about the use of the apps