Tong Huong Ly, Quiroz Juan C, Kocaballi Ahmet Baki, Ijaz Kiran, Coiera Enrico, Chow Clara K, Laranjo Liliana
Westmead Applied Research Centre, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.
Centre for Big Data Research in Health, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia.
Digit Health. 2022 Jul 21;8:20552076221115017. doi: 10.1177/20552076221115017. eCollection 2022 Jan-Dec.
To investigate the feasibility of the be.well app and its personalization approach which regularly considers users' preferences, amongst university students.
We conducted a mixed-methods, pre-post experiment, where participants used the app for 2 months. Eligibility criteria included: age 18-34 years; owning an iPhone with Internet access; and fluency in English. Usability was assessed by a validated questionnaire; engagement metrics were reported. Changes in physical activity were assessed by comparing the difference in daily step count between baseline and 2 months. Interviews were conducted to assess acceptability; thematic analysis was conducted.
Twenty-three participants were enrolled in the study (mean age = 21.9 years, 71.4% women). The mean usability score was 5.6 ± 0.8 out of 7. The median daily engagement time was 2 minutes. Eighteen out of 23 participants used the app in the last month of the study. Qualitative data revealed that people liked the personalized activity suggestion feature as it was actionable and promoted user autonomy. Some users also expressed privacy concerns if they had to provide a lot of personal data to receive highly personalized features. Daily step count increased after 2 months of the intervention (median difference = 1953 steps/day, -value <.001, 95% CI 782 to 3112).
Incorporating users' preferences in personalized advice provided by a physical activity app was considered feasible and acceptable, with preliminary support for its positive effects on daily step count. Future randomized studies with longer follow up are warranted to determine the effectiveness of personalized mobile apps in promoting physical activity.
调查be.well应用程序及其定期考虑用户偏好的个性化方法在大学生中的可行性。
我们进行了一项混合方法的前后测实验，参与者使用该应用程序2个月。纳入标准包括：年龄18 - 34岁；拥有可上网的苹果手机；英语流利。通过一份经过验证的问卷评估可用性；报告参与指标。通过比较基线和2个月时每日步数的差异来评估身体活动的变化。进行访谈以评估可接受性；进行主题分析。
23名参与者纳入研究（平均年龄 = 21.9岁，71.4%为女性）。可用性平均得分为7分中的5.6 ± 0.8分。每日参与时间中位数为2分钟。23名参与者中有18名在研究的最后一个月使用了该应用程序。定性数据显示，人们喜欢个性化活动建议功能，因为它具有可操作性并促进了用户自主性。一些用户也表达了如果必须提供大量个人数据以获得高度个性化功能时对隐私的担忧。干预2个月后每日步数增加（中位数差异 = 1953步/天，P值 <.001，95%置信区间782至3112）。
将用户偏好纳入体育活动应用程序提供的个性化建议中被认为是可行且可接受的，初步支持其对每日步数有积极影响。未来需要进行更长随访期的随机研究，以确定个性化移动应用程序在促进体育活动方面的有效性。
