School of Advertising, Marketing and Public Relations, QUT Business School, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
QUT Design Lab, Creative Industries Faculty, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD, Australia.
J Med Internet Res. 2020 Sep 22;22(9):e15307. doi: 10.2196/15307.
Interest in mobile health (mHealth) has increased recently, and research suggests that mHealth devices can enhance end-user engagement, especially when used in conjunction with brief message content.
This research aims to explore the stages of engagement framework for mHealth devices and develop a method to generate brief message content to promote sustained user engagement. This study uses the framework by O'Brien and Toms as a point of departure, where engagement is defined as the uptake or the use of an mHealth device. The framework is a linear repeatable process, including point of engagement, period of engagement, disengagement, and re-engagement. Each stage is characterized by attributes related to a person's technology experience. Although the literature has identified stages of engagement for health-related technology, few studies explore mHealth engagement. Furthermore, little research has determined a method for creating brief message content at each stage in this engagement journey.
Interviews and observations from 19 participants who used mHealth technologies (apps, devices, or wellness websites) in a solo capacity were recruited for sample group 1. In sample group 2, interviews, and observations from 25 participants using mHealth technologies in a group capacity through the Global Corporate Challenge were used. These samples were investigated at 3 time points in both research contexts. The results underwent deductive-inductive thematic analysis for the engagement stages' framework and attributes.
In addition to the 4 stages identified by O'Brien and Toms, 2 additional stages, self-management and limited engagement, were identified. Self-management captures where users had disengaged from their technology but were still engaged with their health activity. Limited engagement captures where group mHealth users had minimal interaction with their mHealth technology but continued to engage in a group fitness activity. The results revealed that mHealth engagement stages were nonlinear and embedded in a wider engagement context and that each stage was characterized by a combination of 49 attributes that could be organized into 8 themes. Themes documented the total user experience and included technology usability, technology features, technology aesthetics, use motivations, health awareness, goal setting, social support, and interruptions. Different themes were found to have more relevance at different engagement stages. Knowing themes and attributes at all engagement stages allows technology developers and health care professionals to generate relevant brief message content informed by a person-centered approach.
This research extends an existing engagement stages framework and identifies attributes and themes relevant to mHealth technology users' total user experience and incorporates concepts derived from health, business studies, and information systems literature. In addition, we offer a practical 5-step process based on a person-centered approach to develop mHealth technology brief message content for sustained engagement.
移动健康（mHealth）的兴趣最近有所增加，研究表明，mHealth 设备可以增强最终用户的参与度，尤其是在与短信内容结合使用时。
本研究旨在探索 mHealth 设备的参与度框架，并开发一种生成短信内容以促进持续用户参与度的方法。本研究以 O'Brien 和 Toms 的框架为出发点，将参与度定义为采用或使用 mHealth 设备。该框架是一个线性可重复的过程，包括参与点、参与期、脱参与和再参与。每个阶段的特点是与个人技术体验相关的属性。尽管文献已经确定了与健康相关技术的参与度阶段，但很少有研究探索 mHealth 参与度。此外，很少有研究确定在参与旅程的每个阶段创建短信内容的方法。
从以个人身份使用 mHealth 技术（应用程序、设备或健康网站）的 19 名参与者中招募了样本组 1 的访谈和观察。在样本组 2 中，通过全球企业挑战赛以小组形式使用 mHealth 技术的 25 名参与者的访谈和观察被用于研究。这两个样本在两个研究背景下的三个时间点进行了调查。结果经过演绎归纳主题分析，确定了参与阶段框架和属性。
除了 O'Brien 和 Toms 确定的 4 个阶段外，还确定了另外 2 个阶段，即自我管理和有限参与。自我管理捕捉到用户何时已经脱离他们的技术，但仍在参与他们的健康活动。有限参与捕捉到小组 mHealth 用户与他们的 mHealth 技术的互动很少，但仍继续参与小组健身活动。结果表明，mHealth 参与度阶段是非线性的，并嵌入在更广泛的参与度背景中，每个阶段的特点是由 49 个属性组成，可以组织成 8 个主题。主题记录了用户的总体体验，包括技术可用性、技术功能、技术美学、使用动机、健康意识、目标设定、社会支持和干扰。在不同的参与阶段，发现不同的主题具有更大的相关性。了解所有参与阶段的主题和属性，可以使技术开发人员和医疗保健专业人员能够生成基于以人为本的方法的相关短信内容。
本研究扩展了现有的参与阶段框架，确定了与 mHealth 技术用户的总体用户体验相关的属性和主题，并结合了健康、商业研究和信息系统文献中得出的概念。此外，我们提供了一个基于以人为本的方法的实用的 5 步过程，以开发用于持续参与的 mHealth 技术短信内容。
