Testing the Feasibility of the DASH Cloud Intervention Using Amazon Alexa

The DASH diet is a proven behavioral strategy to reduce blood pressure, however, national adherence rates are poor. Using digital health tools may help to improve adoption of the DASH diet. Digital health approaches capitalize on the ubiquitous utilization of mobile technologies and have broad dissemination potential. There have been few efforts to test a DASH intervention via digital, and none using voice-activated technologies (e.g, Amazon Alexa). This proposal will enroll up to 20 participants to leverage a commercial diet tracking application, an existing intervention technology platform and the Amazon Echo Dot to test the feasibility of using DASH Cloud, a digital health intervention, with the Amazon Alexa personal assistant.

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Key information

Conditions

Behavior, Health Behavior Diet Modification Health Behavior

Age range

21 year and older

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina, 27705, United States

About this study

Digital health approaches are promising intervention channels for improving DASH diet adherence. Almost all Americans own a mobile phone and 97% of mobile phone owners use text messaging. Digital health approaches can capitalize on the ubiquity of mobile technologies and allow investigators to reach affected populations with highly personalized content at low cost. Despite this ubiquity, interventions using text messaging for hypertension self-management primarily rely on reminders for tracking and medication adherence without diet and physical activity behaviors or feedback. As such, they are less effective. Investigators will establish the feasibility of a novel digital health-based approach for disseminating the DASH diet using the Amazon Alexa personal assistant. The data from this pilot feasibility trial will set the foundation for a larger, fully-powered R01 grant to examine whether DASH Cloud using Alexa can improve health outcomes. The primary aim of this proposal is to test the feasibility of the DASH Cloud intervention using Amazon Alexa.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

Over 21 years old;
BMI >18.5 kg/m2;
Current use of a smartphone with an updated operating system
Data plan
Willingness to be texted daily or weekly
Wifi network at home
An active email account
Spoken and written English fluency.

Exclusion criteria

CVD event in prior 6 months
Active malignancy
Active psychosis or recent psychiatric institutionalization
Current pregnancy or lactation
Current participation in a similar trial.

Treatment and study plan

DASH cloud with Alexa

Behavioral

Participants will download and install the Alexa and Nutritionix application ("app") onto their smartphone and study staff will setup the study-specific account to send data to Duke's software system called Prompt. Participants will be instructed to invoke through voice their dietary intake daily for three months using the Nutritionix app through the Amazon Alexa personal assistant. DASH Cloud will access participant's dietary intake data through the Nutritionix application programing interface (API) for three months. Participants' data will automatically be uploaded from the Nutritionix app via the API that links the device with DASH Cloud. DASH Cloud will run an algorithm and send a daily or weekly feedback text message with a score reflecting DASH adherence for the prior days or week's food consumption using a previously validated scoring system.

Primary outcomes

Intervention feasibility

Time frame: 3 months

Utilization of intervention components at 3 months as indicated by the system usability scale

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Duke University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start: 2018
Primary completion: 2018
Study completion: 2018
First posted: Mar 7, 2018
Registry last updated: Jul 25, 2019

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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Completed