Macro-engagement in mHealth: Exploring user engagement beyond the screen.

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Behavior Change Interventions
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• Digital technologies offer health benefits, but user skepticism regarding screen time and device usage can impede adoption and engagement.
• This skepticism poses a challenge for the widespread implementation of digital health technologies.
• Understanding user engagement beyond digital interfaces is crucial for effective digital health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore how users engage with their behavior change goals beyond digital interfaces.
• To investigate the concept of macro-engagement in the context of digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs).
• To identify offscreen behaviors and strategies that complement digital behavior change processes.

Main Methods:

• Conducted 30 semi-structured interviews with diverse participants: mental health professionals, digital health experts, and users of DBCIs.
• Employed a qualitative analysis approach using grounded theory to analyze interview data.
• Focused on understanding user experiences and strategies related to behavior change goals.

Main Results:

• Identified a wide array of offscreen behaviors and strategies that users employ to support their behavior change goals.
• Demonstrated that engagement with behavior change extends beyond the usage of digital tools.
• Highlighted the importance of integrating offscreen activities with digital interventions for holistic behavior change.

Conclusions:

• User engagement with digital behavior change interventions (DBCIs) is multifaceted, involving significant offscreen components.
• Designing DBCIs that encourage progressive non-reliance on the technology can foster sustainable behavior change.
• Future digital health interventions should consider and integrate these offscreen strategies to enhance user engagement and outcomes.