Step by step: promoting daily walking through a mHealth intervention

Area of Science:

• Digital Health
• Behavioral Science
• Health Promotion

Background:

• Mobile health (mHealth) interventions leverage accessible, personalized tools to promote well-being and positive health behaviors.
• Evidence supporting the effectiveness of mHealth programs requires further investigation.
• This study evaluates an mHealth protocol based on the Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) to increase daily step counts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a mobile health intervention designed to increase daily step counts.
• To compare the impact of interactive and non-interactive theory-driven notifications on behavior change.
• To evaluate the role of self-monitoring and goal setting in mHealth interventions.

Main Methods:

• The study utilized the MyPocketHealth app to deliver a 15-day intervention to 210 participants.
• Participants were assigned to groups receiving interactive (HAPA-I) or non-interactive (HAPA-NI) notifications, or no communication (No comm), alongside self-monitoring.
• Intervention groups set personalized or standardized step goals (7,000 daily steps) and received badge awards for goal attainment.

Main Results:

• The HAPA-NI group exhibited significantly higher dropout rates compared to other conditions.
• Both HAPA-I and HAPA-NI groups demonstrated sustained increases in daily step counts throughout the intervention.
• The no-communication group showed an initial increase in step counts that subsequently declined.

Conclusions:

• Theory-driven notifications are effective in promoting sustained engagement with behavioral goals.
• Balancing notification frequency and interactivity is crucial for optimizing user engagement in mHealth interventions.
• The findings highlight the importance of tailored communication strategies for long-term mHealth effectiveness.