Research

The Family App is a smartphone app being developed to help parents manage healthy habits during pregnancy and 6 months after birth.

About the Project

My research is based at Trinity College Dublin and KU Leuven, funded by the European Union. The project investigates how digital tools can support healthy habit formation for parents during pregnancy and the first six months after birth. To learn more about this project, please visit hap3.eu

Research Phases

Phase 1 — Need Assessment: Interviews and focus groups with new and expectant parents to understand daily routines, barriers to healthy habits, and what they’d actually want from a digital tool.

Phase 2 — Co-creation: Building and iteratively refining a prototype app based on the co-design findings, drawing on behavioural science frameworks.

Phase 3 — User Testing: Testing the prototype with doctorate students at Trinity College Dublin to assess usability of the Family App prototype.

Phase 4 — Pilot Testing: Testing the Family App prototype with participants in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium to assess cultural acceptability and relevance.

Take Part

We are currently recruiting participants for Phase 1. If you have given birth in the past 12 months, we’d love to hear from you. Taking part means one conversation (either a 45–60 minute interview or a 90–120 minute focus group) held online or in person at Trinity College Dublin. Your input directly shapes the design of the app.