TY  - JOUR
AU  - Hanbury, Meagan M
AU  - Sadeghi, Banafsheh
AU  - Tseregounis, Iraklis Erik
AU  - Gomez-Camacho, Rosa
AU  - Manzo, Rosa D
AU  - Rangel, Maria Isabel
AU  - Alexandrescu, Bogdan
AU  - de la Torre, Adela
PY  - 2019
DA  - 2019/01/16
TI  - A Web-Based Application to Improve Data Collection in an Interventional Study Targeting Childhood Obesity: Pre-Post Analysis
JO  - J Med Internet Res
SP  - e10861
VL  - 21
IS  - 1
KW  - data collection
KW  - internet
KW  - rural population
KW  - efficiency
AB  - Background: Although participatory action research (PAR) studies have proliferated in recent years, the development of technological resources to manage these types of projects has not kept pace. Few studies show how Web-based applications can be used to efficiently manage the data collection process. Objective: This study described the development, use, and impact of a Web-based application to facilitate data management in Niños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family), an interventional multifaceted PAR field study. Methods: We described the transformation of the data management process and evaluated the impact of the application in terms of time efficiency of data collection and engagement of community-based data collectors. We defined time efficiency as the total number of days it took to collect 3 main surveys, per year of data collection. The engagement of data collectors was assessed based on qualitative reports. Results: The amount of time it took to perform a round of data collection was reduced after implementation of the field team application (between 382 and 383 days and 198 and 233 days). Secondary data were also collected in a tighter time frame around collection of the primary outcome, and communication among data collectors, the field staff, and the research team was streamlined. In focus groups, community-based data collectors reported feeling more empowered and engaged in the data collection process after implementation of the application. Conclusions: A Web-based management application was successful in improving data collection time efficiency and engagement among data collectors. 
SN  - 1438-8871
UR  - http://www.jmir.org/2019/1/e10861/
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/10861
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30664465
DO  - 10.2196/10861
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/10861
ER  -