The effect of mobile messaging-based health interventions on non-communicable disease health risks and behaviours
type: CreativeWork
description: Introduction: The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased rapidly, with NCDs being a leading cause of death globally. Despite the high mortality rate, NCDs are preventable and can be managed through addressing modifiable risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity. Many public health interventions have aimed to reduce NCD risk factors, through supporting various lifestyle modifications. These interventions include Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions, which involve the use of mobile technology to provide health care and support to patients remotely. Community-based programmes may benefit from the use of mHealth interventions, due to the potential of these interventions for scalability and cost effectiveness. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to develop, implement and evaluate a pilot mHealth intervention that delivered automated, one-way WhatsApp messages for the promotion of healthy behaviour changes, as part of a pre-existing community health programme, Western Cape on Wellness (WoW!). Prior to the implementation of the pilot intervention, formative research was conducted, which included i) performing a systematic review and meta-analysis to better understand existing mHealth literature relevant to the pilot study, and ii) conducting a prospective descriptive study that aimed to determine the baseline health status, health goals, and health barriers of the population in which the intervention would be piloted. Methods: A mixed method approach was used. First a systematic review and meta analysis was performed by searching for relevant literature on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Eligibility included pre-post intervention studies using one way mobile messaging for health behaviour change. A random effects model was used for meta-analysis and standardised mean difference for effect size. Thereafter, a prospective, descriptive study was performed by administering an online health questionnaire to recruited WoW! members. Las…
abstract: Introduction: The prevalence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) has increased rapidly, with NCDs being a leading cause of death globally. Despite the high mortality rate, NCDs are preventable and can be managed through addressing modifiable risk factors such as obesity and physical inactivity. Many public health interventions have aimed to reduce NCD risk factors, through supporting various lifestyle modifications. These interventions include Mobile Health (mHealth) interventions, which involve the use of mobile technology to provide health care and support to patients remotely. Community-based programmes may benefit from the use of mHealth interventions, due to the potential of these interventions for scalability and cost effectiveness. Aim: The aim of this thesis was to develop, implement and evaluate a pilot mHealth intervention that delivered automated, one-way WhatsApp messages for the promotion of healthy behaviour changes, as part of a pre-existing community health programme, Western Cape on Wellness (WoW!). Prior to the implementation of the pilot intervention, formative research was conducted, which included i) performing a systematic review and meta-analysis to better understand existing mHealth literature relevant to the pilot study, and ii) conducting a prospective descriptive study that aimed to determine the baseline health status, health goals, and health barriers of the population in which the intervention would be piloted. Methods: A mixed method approach was used. First a systematic review and meta analysis was performed by searching for relevant literature on PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases. Eligibility included pre-post intervention studies using one way mobile messaging for health behaviour change. A random effects model was used for meta-analysis and standardised mean difference for effect size. Thereafter, a prospective, descriptive study was performed by administering an online health questionnaire to recruited WoW! members. Las…
author: Emeran, Aminah
language: en
keywords: Medicine
date published: 2025
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:23:47Z
provider: University of Cape Town
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: Department of Human Biology

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/41534