Risky teen behavior may not occur at home or school: but how to track?

This pilot study of the feasibility of GPS tracking to discern teen travel patterns was supported by the IU School of Medicine’s General Clinical Research Center’s Health Outcomes and Research Feasibility Fund. Based on the success of the initial project, the researchers have received funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to enroll 160 urban teenage girls in a study to track their movements in spring, summer, fall and winter (to account for seasonal variations). They hope to learn much more about how teenage girls interact with their many environments in ways that impact health.

“We are at the tip of the iceberg seeing where and how teens spend time. As a doctor charged with keeping kids healthy, I am hoping our studies will result in interventions, perhaps something as simple as text messages encouraging healthy behavior or something we haven’t even thought of yet, that will encourage good choices,” said Dr. Wiehe, who is a pediatrician with the Wishard Health System.

In addition to Dr. Wiehe, authors of the study are Shawn C. Hoch, M.S. and Jeffery S. Wilson, Ph.D. of the Department of Geography, School of Liberal Arts, Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis; Gilbert C. Liu, M.D., M.S. and Aaron E. Carroll, M.D., M.S. of the IU School of Medicine and the Regenstrief Institute; and J. Dennis Fortenberry, M.D., M.S. of the IU School of Medicine.