O9 A Text-Delivered Intervention to Improve Dietary Habits, Stress Management Behaviors and Create Awareness of Food Assistance Resources Among College Students

Abstract

Background Prior research indicate that text messaging is fully incorporated in the day-to-day lives of college students, and it provides opportunities in which behavior change interventions can be delivered. Objective To evaluate acceptance and effectiveness of health-related text messages on college students’ dietary habits, stress management behaviors and awareness of food assistance resources. Study Design, Settings, Participants Stratified random sampling was used to assign participants into either a control or intervention group. A total of 46 college students (ages 18-24 = 63%, 57% food insecure) participated in the study. The intervention group participants received three text messages per week for seven weeks, and the control group received the same information in an email attachment at post-intervention. Measurable Outcome/Analysis Measures included pre- and post- online surveys that assessed the students’ fruit and vegetable (FV) intake, sugar-sweetened beverage intake, mealtime behavior, perceived stress, hours of sleep, and awareness of food assistance resources, and self-reported weight and height. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze baseline demographic, food security status and anthropometric characteristics. Repeated measures ANOVA with fixed effects of time and group were performed to determine differences between intervention and control group outcome variables. Results Food insecure students weighed significantly more than the food secure students at baseline and post-intervention. The intervention group significantly (P Conclusion Text delivered messages appear to be acceptable and have potential to promote positive dietary habits, stress management behaviors and create awareness of food assistance resources among college students. Funding None.