Background/Purpose: Young people with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) are at greater risk for adopting chronic sedentary behaviours and not meeting national physical activity guidelines compared to healthy peers, which can have an important impact on their health, daily function and quality of life. Despite the benefits of engaging in an active lifestyle, to our knowledge few appealing, educational and interactive options exist to promote physical activity among young people living with JIA. Our study aimed to develop and explore the preliminary acceptability (i.e. how well the program is received by users, and how it meets their needs) of JIActiv, a 12-week educational and interactive social media-based program promoting physical activity from the perspectives of adolescents and young adults with JIA and parents, and to refine program format and content.

Methods: The JIActiv prototype was developed based on our earlier work which included three systematic reviews, as well as results from our qualitative needs assessment with key stakeholders (young people with JIA, parents, health care professionals and researchers). JIActiv is an educational and interactive program aimed at promoting physical activity in young people with JIA through the delivery of evidence-based information and use of behavior-change strategies via social media. A descriptive qualitative study design was used to assess the acceptability of the JIActiv prototype. Two adolescents 13 to 17 years of age, 13 young adults 18 to 26 years with JIA, and 2 parents were recruited from arthritis patient groups and a Canadian rehabilitation center. Individual audiotaped interviews lasting 60 to 90 minutes were conducted with each participant over Zoom (Enterprise version 5.0.2). Audiotaped findings were transcribed verbatim, sorted, organized and coded using the QDAMiner software. Data was categorised into emerging themes using simple content analysis. Qualitative findings reported on the format, content and potential usefulness of the program.

Results: The vast majority of participants preferred Instagram as the platform for the program and appreciated the presented functionalities. All participants felt that the proposed length of the program and the number of activities per week were appropriate. The informational videos, individual educational and interactive group activities were thought to be pertinent and helpful to motivate young people to engage in physical activity. Participants found that the esthetics of the program could be improved by choosing one color scheme for all postings. None of the participants reported any concerns regarding cyber-bullying. Most participants thought that having a mentor and access to a health care professional would be very helpful to help answer their questions and offer social support. The group format (size and age range of participants) was well accepted by participants.

Conclusion: The JIActiv social media-based program has good preliminary acceptability and is potentially useful for promoting engagement in physical activity among young people with JIA. Participants proposed ideas on how the program could be improved. Additional interview cycles will help to further refine the program.

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ACR Meeting Abstracts - https://acrabstracts.org/abstract/development-and-preliminary-acceptability-of-jiactiv-a-social-media-based-program-promoting-engagement-in-physical-activity-among-young-people-living-with-juvenile-idiopathic-arthritis/