Final Research Design
ShapeTracker Intervention Stakeholders
- Commissioner Middleton County (MC)
- Middleton County (MC) Health Department (HD) ShapeTracker (ST) team
- MC HD Information Technology staff
- MC HD marketing/communications staff
- Other MC HD staff
- CDC
- Group that developed ST for CDC
- MC community members
- Wellness advocates in MC
- Obesity prevention programs in MC
- Healthy eating related resources in MC
- Exercise resources in MC
- Smartphone providers in MC
- California communities that implemented ST
- Smartphone companies
- MC government
Logic Model
| Inputs | Activities | Outputs | Short-term Outcomes | Intermediate Outcomes | Long-term Outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ShapeTracker App | Mobilize local resources and customize ST for MC | # of times ST app downloaded in MC | Decrease perceived barriers to healthy eating and physical activity | Increase healthy eating in MC | Reduce obesity in MC |
| Funding from HD and CDC | Market ST in MC | # of MC residents actively using ST | Increase self-monitoring of healthy eating and physical activity | Increase physical activity in MC | Reduce obesity related health problems in MC |
| Team of experienced staff | Keep app updated and maintain content | Amount of use for different ST functions | Increase self-efficacy for healthy eating and physical activity | ||
| High smart phone use in MC community | Provide technical assistance to users | User satisfaction with ST | Increase social supprt for healthy eating and physical activity | ||
| Marketing & communication resources in HD | # of friends referred to ST | ||||
| IT resources in HD | # of MC residents actively using ST long-term | ||||
| Local obesity prevention resources in MC |
ShapeTracker Intervention Evaluation Questions
Process Questions
- Was a broad range of local resources successfully engaged in the project?
- Was ST successfully disseminated to a broad segment of MC community?
- What proportion of MC residents have:
- downloaded the app?
- became active users of the app?
- became active long-term users of the app?
- For those who stopped using ST, why did they discontinue?
- How much are ST users using different functions in ST?
- How satisfied are MC residents with the ST app and its specific features?
Outcome Questions
- Does use of ST increase:
- self-monitoring of healthy eating and physical activity?
- self-efficacy for healthy eating and physical activity?
- social support for healthy eating and physical activity?
- Does ST decrease perceived barriers to healthy eating and physical activity?
- Does use of ST increase healthy eating and physical activity among county residents?
- Does use of ST lead to lower BMI among those who are obese or overweight?
- Does use of ST help those with normal BMI prevent overweight?
The evaluation questions we have chosen to address in our evaluation plan.
Selected Design
After considering many options, our team has selected a research design for the outcome evaluation. It builds on one of the examples discussed before. We don’t think randomization within Middleton county will work, or that we can find a comparison group within Middleton county, so we have decided to work with our neighboring county, Upperton, to get a comparison group for our evaluation. This will allow us to aggressively market ShapeTracker to all residents of Middleton county. Luckily, Upperton and Middleton are very similar in size and population demographics, including smart phone use and obesity, and both counties conduct annual representative household surveys.
To strengthen our design, we will take advantage of the annual surveys and include two post measures, one year after baseline and two years after baseline. In other words, our outcome measures will be administered in three consecutive annual household surveys in both counties.
Please use the notation system to depict the evaluation design.
Instructions: Click on a gray space to enter a value, then click on a notation of your selection. You can change your notation by clicking on the space again. Note that all the gray spaces must be filled, so to leave a space blank you must select the blank space notation.
Important notice: The following Design Notation interactive exercise is not optimized for assistive technologies.
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Both counties will provide data at baseline, 1 year and 2 years, represented by the three O’s in each row. There is no randomization (NR). Only one row (representing Middleton county) gets the X for the intervention.