A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Promote Physical Activity and Change Fitness Scores in Rural College Students: The Northern eHealth / mHealth Trial (N-EMT)

Peter D. Hart^{1, 2,} , Gabriel Benavidez^{1, 3}, Andrew Potter¹, Kilby Rech¹, Cory Michael Budak¹, Cydney Auzenne¹, Jade Failing¹, Taruha Kirkaldie¹, Michelle Lonebear¹ and Linda Miller¹

¹Health Promotion Program, Montana State University - Northern, Havre, MT 59501, USA

²Kinesmetrics Lab, Montana State University - Northern, Havre, MT 59501, USA;Health Demographics, Havre, MT 59501, USA

³Kinesmetrics Lab, Montana State University - Northern, Havre, MT 59501, USA

Cite this paper:
Peter D. Hart, Gabriel Benavidez, Andrew Potter, Kilby Rech, Cory Michael Budak, Cydney Auzenne, Jade Failing, Taruha Kirkaldie, Michelle Lonebear and Linda Miller. A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial to Promote Physical Activity and Change Fitness Scores in Rural College Students: The Northern eHealth / mHealth Trial (N-EMT). World Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2017; 5(1):43-48. doi: 10.12691/jpm-5-1-6

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the feasibility and efficacy of two different technology-based health education interventions on physical activity (PA) and physical fitness (PF) outcomes in college students. A total of N=15 college students attending a small rural university were equally randomized to one of three groups: eHealth, mHealth, or wait-list control. Intervention components lasted four weeks. The eHealth group received four 1-week long health education modules via a campus-based website. The mHealth group also received four 1-week long modules with similar content as eHealth but with use of instant messaging and Facebook alerts. The control group was asked to behave in their usual manner. Outcome measures included scores from PF assessments, self-reported PA, theory of planned behavior (TPB) scales, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures. Analyses indicated that mHealth made improvement on all PF measures. As well, mHealth made more improvement on PA measures than either eHealth or control. Results from this pilot study indicate that technology-based health education interventions are a feasible and efficacious strategy for promoting PA on rural college campuses.

Keywords:
health promotion physical activity physical fitness eHealth mHealth rural health

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