# A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of mHealth Weight Management for Racial/Ethnic Minorities

> **NIH NIH F31** · NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $42,265

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Obesity is the most prevalent preventable risk factor for cardiometabolic morbidity and mortality in the US.
Additionally, obesity is more prevalent among racial/ethnic minorities whose rates continue to increase.
Racial/ethnic disparities in obesity are influenced by social determinants of health that contribute to social
disadvantage at multiple levels of influence. Among their influences, social determinants of health can interfere
with the diet and activity behaviors that are the primary drivers of obesity and the targets of weight
management interventions. Interventions need to account for these potential influences of social disadvantage.
Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions are particularly promising because they have the reach and efficiency
for equitable population-level dissemination. However, the degree to which social disadvantage interferes with
mHealth treatment efficacy has not been well-studied, and so it is unclear whether mHealth weight
management intervention produces equitable outcomes across sociocultural contexts. Research is needed to
explore whether social disadvantage constrains the benefit derived from mHealth intervention, in order to
inform potentially needed optimization. This project will leverage multiple synergistic research methods that
span the intervention evidence spectrum to evaluate this question. A systematic review and meta-analysis will
provide a comprehensive, rigorous overview of research literature on how mHealth obesity treatment effects
may be moderated by socioenvironmental context and disadvantage. Secondary quantitative analyses of two
previously conducted mHealth weight loss trials will evaluate the extent to which multilevel social determinants
of health moderate improvements in health behaviors. Finally, qualitative interviews and analysis will be used
to evaluate racial/ethnic minority participants’ perceptions of barriers and facilitators to engagement in mHealth
weight management. Together, these synergistic methods to be learned and applied in this fellowship span the
analytic spectrum. Their integration will build a coherent foundation upon which we can advance mHealth
interventions for weight management among racial/ethnic minorities.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10463289
- **Project number:** 1F31HL162555-01A1
- **Recipient organization:** NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Samuel Louis Battalio
- **Activity code:** F31 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $42,265
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2022-06-01 → 2025-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10463289

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10463289, A Mixed-Methods Evaluation of mHealth Weight Management for Racial/Ethnic Minorities (1F31HL162555-01A1). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10463289. Licensed CC0.

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