An Intervention to Improve Medication Adherence in People With Heart Disease (Text4HeartII): Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Mobile health technologies have the potential to improve the reach and delivery of interventions for promoting long-term secondary prevention of coronary heart disease.

Objective: This study aims to determine the effectiveness of an SMS text messaging intervention (Text4HeartII) for improving adherence to medication and lifestyle changes over and above usual care in people with coronary heart disease at 24 and 52 weeks.

Methods: A two-arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial was conducted in New Zealand.

Examining the use of loyalty point incentives to encourage health and fitness centre participation.

A unique financial incentive intervention was conducted in Canada, where YMCA members were offered loyalty points (Air Miles Reward Miles) to encourage visits to YMCA Health and Fitness Centres. The purpose of this evaluation study was to determine if YMCA members would participate in a loyalty point incentive program and if the weekly YMCA visit rates differed between Air Miles collectors and non-collectors. YMCA swipe data were collected from 2012 to 2016, including 12 months pre-program (baseline data), 36 months during the intervention period, and 3 months post-program.

Smartphone app uses loyalty point incentives and push notifications to encourage influenza vaccine uptake.

Purpose: Carrot Rewards is a free, incentive-based, smartphone health app available in participating provinces in Canada. One feature of Carrot was designed to incentivize influenza vaccine education messages and encourage vaccine uptake for users in the province of British Columbia. This study aimed to evaluate the uptake of the Carrot Flu Campaign educational quiz and to determine if mobile "push" notifications, plus loyalty point incentives, resulted in users visiting a sponsored pharmacy to discuss and receive the influenza vaccine.

Text2PreventCVD: protocol for a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis of text message-based interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Introduction: Text message interventions have been shown to be effective in prevention and management of several non-communicable disease risk factors. However, the extent to which their effects might vary in different participants and settings is uncertain. We aim to conduct a systematic review and individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of randomised clinical trials examining text message interventions aimed to prevent cardiovascular diseases (CVD) through modification of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs).

Canadian physical activity guidelines for adults: are Canadians aware?

The present study evaluated awareness of the Canadian Society for Exercise Physiology's 2011 Canadian Physical Activity Guidelines for Adults and assessed correlates. Reported awareness of the physical activity (PA) guidelines was 12.9% (204/1586) of the total sample surveyed.

Cardiovascular Disease Self-Management: Pilot Testing of an mHealth Healthy Eating Program.

Unlabelled: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is crucial in the management of cardiovascular disease (CVD), yet attendance is poor. Mobile technology (mHealth) offers a potential solution to increase reach of CR. This paper presents two development studies to determine mobile phone usage in adults with CVD and to evaluate the acceptability of an mHealth healthy eating CR program.

Results from New Zealand's 2014 Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth.

Background: This brief report provides grades for the 2014 New Zealand Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth. The Report Card presents a review of current evidence across 9 key indicators, including physical activity (PA), organized sport and free play, sedentary behavior, and community and government initiatives across New Zealand.

Methods: Nationally representative survey data were collated by researchers at the University of Auckland, New Zealand, between June and December 2013.

Do physical activity and dietary smartphone applications incorporate evidence-based behaviour change techniques?

Background: There has been a recent proliferation in the development of smartphone applications (apps) aimed at modifying various health behaviours. While interventions that incorporate behaviour change techniques (BCTs) have been associated with greater effectiveness, it is not clear to what extent smartphone apps incorporate such techniques. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of BCTs in physical activity and dietary apps and determine how reliably the taxonomy checklist can be used to identify BCTs in smartphone apps.

Improving coronary heart disease self-management using mobile technologies (Text4Heart): a randomised controlled trial protocol.

Background: Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is a secondary prevention program that offers education and support to assist patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) make lifestyle changes. Despite the benefits of CR, attendance at centre-based sessions remains low. Mobile technology (mHealth) has potential to reach more patients by delivering CR directly to mobile phones, thus providing an alternative to centre-based CR.