Developing a Text-Message Enhanced Physical Activity Intervention for Latino Men

Overview

The aim of this study is to build upon our tailored print intervention by developing new text-delivered intervention materials to complement our print-based physical activity (PA) intervention. In Phase 1 we will conduct 6 focus groups with Mexican and Mexican American (MA) men to determine content, frequency, and types of text messages desired, and to identify cultural themes to incorporate into existing and new materials. Themes from the focus groups and sample text messages will be presented to a confirmatory focus group panel. Phase 2 will be a 6-month pilot randomized controlled trial with Mexican and MA men (N=60) to test the text-enhanced, Spanish language, individually tailored PA intervention vs. publicly available, Spanish language health education materials, including information on PA, diet, and stress management. This will be followed by post-intervention qualitative interviews to solicit suggestions for improvements to help further refine the program. The proposed pilot will support a future R01 to establish the efficacy of this multi-media, multi-level PA intervention for Mexican and MA men.

The proposed research addresses serious public health concerns (inactivity, health disparities) in a large, rapidly growing population of Mexican American (MA) men who are markedly less physically active than men of other ethnicities and suffer from higher prevalence of conditions related to sedentary lifestyle. While this population is clearly in need of physical activity (PA) interventions, to date none have specifically targeted MA men. In fact, the majority of PA interventions for Latinos have exclusively included women and/or are designed around female preferences.The proposed study will address the needs and barriers to PA in MA men by developing text message-delivered intervention materials based on Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to complement an individually tailored, theory-based print material PA intervention for Spanish speaking Mexican and MA men. Text messaging could be a particularly effective and appealing channel for increasing PA in this target population as it allows for participant interaction, real-time accountability, and immediate feedback, features which MA men in the demonstration trial of our print intervention specifically requested. Text-based interventions have been shown to improve a number of health behaviors, including PA. A recent review of texting interventions found that they were generally well received and effective in reducing inactivity, weight, and waist circumference,5 and a meta-analysis found a moderate effect size (g = 0.54) for using mobile devices to increase PA. However, few of these trials targeted underserved populations, and none specifically targeted Latinos. Cell phone ownership is high in Latino adults (86% vs. 84% in non-Latino Whites), and Latinos are actually the most likely to use mobile phones for text messaging, with 85% reporting regularly sending and receiving texts (compared to 79% of Whites). Thus this is a familiar, convenient channel for delivering new intervention materials. Additionally, as Latinos also face environmental barriers to PA, in the current proposal we will enhance the individually tailored psychosocial print-based materials by developing materials targeting barriers in home and work environments. This multi-media, multi-level approach has potential for broad reach at relatively low cost, which could help reduce health disparities.