@Article{info:doi/10.2196/36811,
author="Lim, Wei Xiang
and Fook-Chong, Stephanie
and Lim, John Wah
and Gan, Wee Hoe",
title="The Outcomes of App-Based Health Coaching to Improve Dietary Behavior Among Nurses in a Tertiary Hospital: Pilot Intervention Study",
journal="JMIR Nursing",
year="2022",
month="Jul",
day="15",
volume="5",
number="1",
pages="e36811",
keywords="smartphone app; weight loss; dietary behavior; nurse; app; mobile health; mHealth; app-based health; health coaching; diet; dietary choice",
abstract="Background: At the workplace, health care workers face multiple challenges in maintaining healthy dietary behaviors, which is the major factor behind obesity. A hospital-wide mass health screening exercise showed an increasing trend in the prevalence of obesity and median BMI from 2004 to 2019, as well as a higher crude obesity rate among shift workers. Objective: We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of mobile app--based health coaching and incentives for achieving weight loss from better dietary choices among hospital nurses. Methods: We conducted a pilot study from June 2019 to March 2020, involving the use of a health-coaching app by 145 hospital nurses over 6 months. Weight and BMI were self-reported, and food scores were calculated. Data among overweight nurses, shift work nurses, and incentive groups were analyzed. Results: A total of 61 nurses were included in the final analysis. Of these 61 nurses, 38 (62{\%}) lost weight. The median percentage weight loss was 1.2{\%} (IQR 0{\%}-2.9{\%}; P<.001), and the median decrease in BMI was 0.35 (IQR −0.15 to 0.82; P<.001), but they were not clinically significant. The median improvement in the food score was 0.4 (IQR 0-0.8). There was no difference between the incentive and nonincentive groups. A total of 49 (34{\%}) participants engaged for ≥8 weeks. Conclusions: The study demonstrated an association between the use of app-based health coaching and the attainment of some weight loss in nurses, without a significant improvement in the food score. Incentives may nudge on-boarding, but do not sustain engagement. ",
issn="2562-7600",
doi="10.2196/36811",
url="https://nursing.jmir.org/2022/1/e36811",
url="https://doi.org/10.2196/36811",
url="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35838811"
}