Pediatricians Prescribing Play: Using Technology to Increase Physical Activity

Purpose/Objectives: Childhood obesity has become one of the most troublesome public health concerns in the United States with an estimated prevalence nearing 20%. While multifactorial in origin, physical inactivity and poor diet are key contributors. In recent years, the American Academy of Pediatrics has highlighted the importance of regular physical activity and exercise counseling. Additionally, USPSTF guidelines for screening for obesity in children and adolescents suggests that ≥26 contacts hours are needed to result in weight loss. In response to these guidelines and the numerous barriers to achieving patient contact hours we’ve created “Pediatricians Prescribing Play,” a prescription-model mobile application that gamifies physical activity through a series of interactive videos streamed directly to a patient or guardian’s mobile device.

Design/Methods: Pediatricians Prescribing Play is a prescription-model mobile application available for free on the Android and Apple app stores. Recruitment criteria includes pediatric patients ages 5-12 years old at or greater than the 70th percentile BMI utilizing government-subsidized healthcare. Integration with our EHR vendor allows pediatricians to order the app and make individual physical activity recommendations, providing a physical prescription for play along with app download instructions. App usage and user feedback data is tracked, and made available to prescribing pediatricians for discussion during subsequent wellness visits.

Results: In total, 340 patients have been prescribed and are actively using the mobile application across 9 pediatric clinic sites. There are currently 15 actively participating pediatricians. A total of 784 exercise sessions have been completed, with an average of 3.4 sessions per patient. The average age of players is 9.4 years old. 72% of families have reported the app increased their child’s activity level, 80% have reported the app increased their child’s motivation to exercise, and 92% of families plan to continue using the app.

Conclusion/Discussion: Assessment and advice may not be enough to prevent childhood obesity due to rampant physical inactivity and ever increasing amounts of screen-time. Pediatricians Prescribing Play has turned screen-time into a Trojan horse by providing a free, mobile platform for physical activity, while increasing the number of touch points between the pediatrician and patient.