Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41468532›Full record

ArticleJMIR mHealth and uHealth2025

Engagement of African American Women With Fitness Trackers and Mobile Technology for Shared Physical Activity Goals: Mixed Methods Study.

Allison Sweeney, Timothy Simmons, Anika Nair, Lindsay Decker

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors.

Allison SweeneyDepartment of Biobehavioral Health and Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, 1601 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States, 1 803-576-7891.ORCID 0000-0001-6398-8042
Timothy SimmonsDepartment of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States.ORCID 0009-0001-1907-8727
Anika NairDepartment of Biobehavioral Health and Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, 1601 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States, 1 803-576-7891.ORCID 0009-0000-9186-9198
Lindsay DeckerDepartment of Biobehavioral Health and Nursing Science, College of Nursing, University of South Carolina, 1601 Greene Street, Columbia, SC, 29208, United States, 1 803-576-7891.ORCID 0009-0004-8099-4718

Funding

The Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity Trial (TEAM-PA)R01HL160618 · NHLBI · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · PI Allison Marie Sweeney · 2022 to 2026
$3.9M
NHLBI NIH HHS R01 HL160618
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: While there is growing evidence demonstrating the usefulness of integrating social features within mobile health approaches, little research has explored how African American women use mobile platforms to facilitate physical activity within the context of a group-based physical activity intervention. Objective: The primary aim of this study was to qualitatively describe how African American women used private group messaging boards on the Fitbit mobile app (eg, the type of social and motivational strategies) during a 10-week group-based physical activity intervention. The secondary aim of this study was to quantitatively test whether greater engagement on the Fitbit mobile app (number of posts per week) was associated with greater daily physical activity (ie, steps and total minutes of physical activity) across 10 weeks. Methods: Data were collected from 54 African American women who participated in the Together Everyone Achieves More Physical Activity trial (mean age 51.57, SD 13.89 y). Participants completed weekly in-person group sessions, set group-based weekly physical activity goals, and used the Fitbit mobile app for ongoing group communication and support, including posting in a private group. This study used a QUAN-qual mixed methods design to describe how participants used the private group messaging boards on the Fitbit mobile app and to evaluate whether engagement on the Fitbit app was associated with greater physical activity (ie, steps and total minutes of physical activity) across the 10-week intervention. Results: The mean number of posts per week ranged from 1.79 (SD 2.95) in week 1 to 1.11 (SD 2.49) in week 10, with a maximum of 5.06 (SD 7.62) posts in week 5. A thematic content analysis revealed that the private groups reflected numerous topics, including motivational strategies, cognitive strategies, group strategies, informal positive communication, and sharing pictures. The quantitative analyses revealed that participants who posted at least once per week engaged in more steps (P=.006) and total minutes of physical activity (P=.02). Conclusions: Participants engaged in ongoing social support, positive communication, and vicarious learning through the Fitbit app, suggesting several important directions for future research, including potential interpersonal mechanisms and best practices for enhancing social support and physical activity among African American women.

Indexed as

Black or African AmericanExerciseFitness TrackersPatient ParticipationAdultAgedFemaleGoalsHumansMiddle AgedMobile ApplicationsMotivationQualitative Researchactivity trackerAfrican AmericanAfrican American womenFitbitfitness trackermHealthmobile appmobile healthmultimethods approachphysical activityphysical activity interventionsocial support

Identifiers

PMID41468532
PMCPMC12752912

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.