The Research Group on Health Education and Promotion, Japan Society for Occupational Health, Tokyo, Japan.
Faculty of Sociology, Aomori University, Aomori, Japan.
PLoS One. 2024 Aug 12;19(8):e0305765. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305765. eCollection 2024.
Prior research has implied that promoting sustaining physical activity through nudges is challenging and boosting health literacy is important for the long-term establishment of behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of commitment-based health application on step count and health literacy.
A control experiment was conducted involving employees from companies located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were divided into three groups: the commitment app group (utilizing a commitment-based application "Minchalle," where teams of around five members were randomly assigned to declare a target step count and report daily step count with pictures), the self-commitment group (individuals declaring a target step count and endeavoring on their own), and the control group (no intervention). Changes in step count and health literacy were examined over one month.
A total of 109 employees from 7 companies participated. The changes in step count were an increase of 893 steps for the commitment app group, 243 steps for the self-commitment group, and 178 steps for the control group, with a significant increase in the commitment app group compared to the control group. Regarding health literacy measures, there was significant progress in four items out of five for the commitment app group compared to the control group, and significant progress in one item for the self-commitment group compared to the control group.
Communication within the app teams, such as commitment, sharing photos of their goal achievements and provide encouraging comments to others, functioned as social nudges, suggesting the potential for an immediate increase in step count and long-term behavioral reinforcement through improved health literacy.
先前的研究表明，通过提示来促进持续的身体活动具有挑战性，提高健康素养对于行为的长期建立很重要。本研究旨在调查基于承诺的健康应用程序对步数和健康素养的影响。
进行了一项对照实验，涉及位于日本静冈县的公司的员工。参与者分为三组：承诺应用程序组（使用基于承诺的应用程序“Minchalle”，其中大约五名成员的团队被随机分配来宣布目标步数，并通过图片报告每日步数）、自我承诺组（个人宣布目标步数并自行努力）和对照组（无干预）。在一个月的时间内，检查了步数和健康素养的变化。
共有来自 7 家公司的 109 名员工参加了该研究。步数的变化是承诺应用程序组增加了 893 步，自我承诺组增加了 243 步，对照组增加了 178 步，与对照组相比，承诺应用程序组的增加幅度显著。关于健康素养措施，与对照组相比，承诺应用程序组的五个项目中有四个项目显著进步，而自我承诺组的一个项目与对照组相比也有显著进步。
应用程序团队内的沟通，如承诺、分享目标达成的照片并互相鼓励评论，起到了社会提示的作用，这表明通过提高健康素养，可能会立即增加步数，并长期强化行为。
