HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living): To improve health and well-being of individuals by addressing social, economic and health inequities: Protocol for a cohort study (Preprint)

Abstract

Health inequity is interlinked with good health and well-being of an individual. Digital health interventions have the potential to reduce the existing health inequities.

The study aims to identify determinants of social, economic, and health inequity in diverse settings to enhance Healthy Eating and Active Living. It further aims to design and develop a digital health intervention HEAL (Healthy Eating Active Living) incorporating framework of human centred design to enhance Healthy Eating and Active Living among rural and urban population groups of Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

A prospective, 3-year cohort study will be conducted. The study aims to recruit 6350 individuals across rural and urban settings of Chennai, Tamil Nadu. A total of eleven sites have been selected for participation in the study. Data will be gathered for sociodemographic, economic inequity, HEAL profile, depression, anxiety and stress, well-being, sources of health information, perceived access to health care, health literacy, navigation of health literacy, satisfaction with health system.

The study would help to explore the determinants of social, economic and health inequity across multiple sites. Data analysis will be performed using SAS v9.3 and results will be reported as 95% CI and p-values. The findings of the study will inform the design and development of a tailored, interactive human centered digital intervention to enhance the health and well-being of the population groups of Chennai.

The proposed study will help in examining the role of the proposed HEAL intervention to enhance the good health and well-being of the population groups of Chennai.