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Published in: BMC Public Health 1/2022

Open Access 01-12-2022 | Nutrition | Study protocol

Study protocol for the description and evaluation of the “Habit Coach” - a longitudinal multicenter mHealth intervention for healthy habit formation in health care professionals

Authors: Anna Vogelsang, Clara Hinrichs, Lena Fleig, Ines Pfeffer

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2022

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Abstract

Background

The adoption of a healthy lifestyle plays a crucial role for the health and well-being of health care professionals. Previous e- and mHealth interventions relied on deliberative psychological processes (e.g., intention, planning) to target lifestyle changes, while revealing mixed efficacy. The additional potential of non-deliberative, automatic processes (i.e., habits) for behavior change has been understudied in interventions so far. The Habit Coach mHealth intervention combines deliberative and non-deliberative processes to support health care professionals in forming healthy physical activity, nutrition and mindfulness habits in daily life. The aim of this paper is to outline the study protocol including a detailed description of the mHealth intervention, evaluation plan, and study design. The purpose of this trial is to understand healthy habit formation in health care professionals over time.

Methods

A one-arm, multicenter mHealth intervention study will be conducted. Behavioral and psychosocial predictors will be collected via within-app questionnaires across a 100-day period at baseline, post, as well as at weekly assessments. To understand habit formation across time, linear mixed models will be used.

Discussion

This trial aims to unravel the role of motivational and volitional determinants for healthy habit formation across multiple health behaviors in health care professionals embedded in a mHealth intervention.

Trial registration

This trial is registered in the German Clinical Trials Register, DRKS-ID DRKS00027156. Date of registration 17 November 2021.
Appendix
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Metadata
Title
Study protocol for the description and evaluation of the “Habit Coach” - a longitudinal multicenter mHealth intervention for healthy habit formation in health care professionals
Authors
Anna Vogelsang
Clara Hinrichs
Lena Fleig
Ines Pfeffer
Publication date
01-12-2022
Publisher
BioMed Central
Keywords
Nutrition
Care
Published in
BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2022
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13986-0

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