Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38206671›Full record

Trial reportJMIR mHealth and uHealth2024

A Behaviorally Informed Mobile App to Improve the Nutritional Quality of Grocery Shopping (SwapSHOP): Feasibility Randomized Controlled Trial.

Carmen Piernas, Charlotte Lee, Alice Hobson, Georgina Harmer, Sarah Payne Riches, Michaela Noreik, Susan A Jebb

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
In one paragraph

Trial report in JMIR mHealth and uHealth, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 24% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors at 2 institutions in 3 countries.

Carmen PiernasNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-7536-922X
Charlotte LeeNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-8252-9538
Alice HobsonNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-7030-1106
Georgina HarmerNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0003-4257-1023
Sarah Payne RichesNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-8804-9500
Michaela NoreikNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0002-9833-6500
Susan A JebbNuffield Department of Primary Care Health Sciences, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.ORCID 0000-0001-9190-2920
University of Oxford · GBUniversidad de Granada · ES

Funding

British Heart Foundation FS/16/34/32211
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundInterventions targeting the nutritional quality of grocery shopping have the potential to help improve diet and health outcomes.

objectiveThis study aims to assess the feasibility and acceptability of receiving advice on healthier food purchases through SwapSHOP, a behaviorally informed smartphone app that allows users to scan barcodes of grocery products from the United Kingdom, providing nutritional information and personalized swap suggestions to encourage healthier purchases.

methodsWe randomized adult volunteers in a 6-arm parallel-group controlled feasibility trial. Participants used the SwapSHOP app to record their grocery shopping during a 2-week run-in period and were individually randomized in a 3:1 ratio to either intervention or control arms within 3 strata related to a nutrient of concern of their choice: saturated fat (SFA), sugar, or salt. Participants randomized to the intervention received the SwapSHOP app with a healthier swap function, goal setting, and personalized feedback. Participants in the control group were instructed to use a simpler version of the app to log all their food purchases without receiving any guidance or advice. The primary outcome was the feasibility of progression to a full trial, including app use and follow-up rates at 6 weeks. The secondary outcomes included other feasibility outcomes, process and qualitative measures, and exploratory effectiveness outcomes to assess changes in the nutrient content of the purchased foods.

resultsA total of 112 participants were randomized into 3 groups: SFA (n=38 intervention and n=13 control), sugar (n=40 intervention and n=15 control), and salt (n=5 intervention and n=1 control, not analyzed). The 2 progression criteria were met for SFA and sugar: 81% (30/37) and 87% (34/39) of intervention participants in the SFA and sugar groups, respectively, used the app to obtain healthier swaps, and 89% (68/76) of intervention participants and 96% (23/24) of control participants completed follow-up by scanning all purchases over the follow-up period. The process and qualitative outcomes suggested that the intervention was acceptable and has the potential to influence shopping behaviors. There were reductions of -0.56 g per 100 g (95% CI -1.02 to -0.19) in SFA and -1 g per 100 g (95% CI -1.97 to -0.03) in total sugars across all food purchases in the intervention groups.

conclusionsPeople were willing to use the SwapSHOP app to help reduce sugar and SFA (but not salt) in their grocery shopping. Adherence and follow-up rates suggest that a full trial is feasible. Given the suggestive evidence indicating that the intervention resulted in reductions in sugars and SFA, a definitive trial is necessary to target improvements in health outcomes.

trial registrationInternational Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number ISRCTN13022312; https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN13022312.

Indexed as

FoodMobile ApplicationsNutritive ValueAdultFeasibility StudiesFood MarketsHumansSodium Chloride, DietarySugarsSodium Chloride, DietarySugarsdietfood purchasesmobile appmobile phonerandomized controlled trialsupermarketswaps

Identifiers

PMID38206671
PMCPMC10811579
OpenAlexW4389071188

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.