Childhood obesity represents a major health issue for multiple reasons, including not only immediate health concerns but also future implications. Specifically, the establishment and further cementing of unhealthy eating patterns and the inability to break them in adulthood can be seen as a legitimate concern raised by numerous scholars (Arthurs et al., 2022). In their study, Arthurs et al. (2022) study the effects of utilizing mHelath-based tools in identifying their digital patterns and behaviors. Therefore, the article informs a nursing expert on the issue of opportunities for improved patient education by increasing young patients’ health literacy by offering them increased control over their dieting options and providing them with accurate and understandable implications thereof.
Discussing the usefulness of mHealth tools in the management of pediatric obesity, the article by Arthurs et al. (2022) is linked directly to the topic at hand. Admittedly, the core question of this research is to examine the effects of mHelath tools on building children’s understanding of the importance of correct dieting choices and the further integration of the specified knowledge in their adulthood. In turn, the article at hand focuses on the actual implications of using mHelath tools as a measure for introducing an immediate change in the management of obesity in children (Arthurs et al., 2022). Therefore, the concept of building health literacy and responsibility in young patients remains a notable literature gap in the specified study (Arthurs et al., 2022). However, the article provides an important overview of how mHealth tools are applied to counteract childhood obesity, therefore, offering an insight into how the specified devices can be integrated into the process of building patient literacy, agency, and responsibility.
The research method that Arthurs et al. (2022) have chosen for their analysis of the issue is a qualitative one, which meets their research purpose effectively and allows for an adequate assessment of the issue. The main purpose of the article is to offer a comprehensive summary of the efficacy and usability of tools and strategies that mHealth provides for treating and preventing pediatric obesity. In turn, the research question that Arthurs et al. (2022) sought to answer can be formulated as whether contemporary mHealth tools provide a decent framework for treating childhood obesity.
The outcomes of the analysis provided by the authors of the study indicate that the integration of mHealth tools does produce a reasonably positive effect on managing childhood obesity and treating it accordingly. Specifically, the research implications suggest that the specified tool allows for measuring changes in the child’s well-being, including differences in the extent of weight gain, accurately, therefore, allowing for the further management of obesity as a health threat (). Therefore, the outcomes of the research are massively important. Since the research utilized primary evidence obtained from articles in scholarly research databases, its setting can be defined as digital. Overall, given the outcomes of the study, the further assessment of opportunities that mHelath tools provide for building health literacy in the target audience should be recommended.
Another study addressing the issue at hand, the study by Rose et al. (2019), should also be considered an important contribution to the present research regarding the development of health literacy and behavior changes in children with obesity by using mHealth tools. Specifically, the article by Rise et al. (2019) examines the outcomes of applying a mHealth-based intervention on the prevention of risks in infant children. Although the specified study has a rather tenuous connection to the target demographic, with parents being the key focus of patient education, the research still examines the effects of mHelath-related tools as the sources of health education and the means of introducing one to the concept of responsible management of weight and the related issues.
Being based on qualitative research, the article in question provides a basis for developing an effective mHealth-based intervention. Specifically, the research design of the study involves collecting data from the target population with the help of interviews and identifying key themes in the narratives (Rose et al., 2019). Furthermore, the selected sample size of 12 parents and 15 NHS workers provides a substantial foundation for making further assumptions regarding the efficacy of mHealth tools in advancing the management and treatment of obesity in children.
The purpose of the article in question concerns identifying the extent of risk of developing obesity in infants with the help of an innovative mHealth tool. Specifically, the role of the ProAsk mHealth tool is examined in the course of the study. In their study, Rose et al. (2019) seek to answer whether the integration of the ProAsk tool allows reducing the risks of childhood obesity in infants. Thus, the research question can be summarized as what key themes can be observed in the narratives of parents using the ProAsk tool to minimize the threat of future obesity in their infants.
The outcomes of the analysis prove that the use of the ProAsk app leads to notable changes. Specifically, Rose et al. (2019) establish that the proposed intervention has significant positive results. Conducted in economically challenging UK localities, the specified study provides essential implications for integrating mHealth tools into the promotion of patient education and management of obesity.
References
Arthurs, N., Tully, L., O’Malley, G., & Browne, S. (2022). Usability and Engagement Testing of mHealth Apps in Paediatric Obesity: A Narrative Review of Current Literature. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(3), 1453-1465.
Rose, J., Glazebrook, C., Wharrad, H., Siriwardena, A. N., Swift, J. A., Nathan, D., Weng, S. F., Atkinson, P., Ablewhite, J., McMaster, F., Watson, V., & Redsell, S. A. (2019). Proactive Assessment of Obesity Risk during Infancy (ProAsk): A qualitative study of parents’ and professionals’ perspectives on an mHealth intervention. BMC Public Health, 19(1), 1-10.