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How Notifications Affect Engagement With a Behavior Change App: Results From a Micro-Randomized Trial
Lauren Bell1,2, Claire Garnett3, Yihan Bao4
1Department of Medical Statistics, The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, United Kingdom.
JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth
|June 9, 2023
Summary
Notifications significantly increase app engagement for reducing alcohol consumption. While near-term effects are strong, long-term engagement requires further optimization for behavior change apps.
Area of Science:
- Digital Health
- Behavioral Science
- Public Health
Background:
- The Drink Less app aims to reduce alcohol consumption in UK adults.
- The causal impact of daily notifications on user engagement was previously unknown.
- New messages were developed to enhance user motivation for app interaction.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate the causal effect of notifications on near-term engagement with the Drink Less app.
- To explore how notification effects change over time.
- To inform optimization strategies for the app's notification policy.
Main Methods:
- A micro-randomized trial (MRT) compared notification versus no notification.
- Users were randomized daily to receive standard, new, or no messages.
- Inclusion criteria included high-risk drinking status and UK residency.
Main Results:
- Notifications increased the probability of app opening by 3.5-fold in the subsequent hour.
- Both standard and new messages showed similar effectiveness.
- No significant difference in time to disengagement was observed across notification groups.
Conclusions:
- Notifications strongly influence near-term engagement with the Drink Less app.
- Targeting notifications can enhance "in-the-moment" user engagement.
- Further research is needed to improve long-term user engagement and sustained behavior change.
Keywords:
adaptive interventionalcoholbehavior changedigital behavior changedigital healthdrinkerdrinkingengagementexcessive alcohol consumptionjust-in-time adaptive interventionmHealthmicro-randomized trialmobile healthmobile phonenotificationpush notificationrandomizationrandomized trialsmartphone app
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