The efficacy of using mobile applications in changing adolescent girls’ physical activity behaviour during weekends

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 113-131
Author(s):  
Ming Li Carol Seah ◽  
Koon Teck Koh
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Physical Activity Behaviour ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Control

Smartphones are omnipresent and offer real-time information on the go. Predominantly, adolescent girls have been found to be engaged in levels of physical activity (PA) below the daily recommended guideline of at least 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous intensity, and especially during weekends. Lack of sufficient PA can lead to a risk of contracting non-communicable diseases. The purpose of this exploratory study was to investigate the efficacy of using mobile applications (app) (i.e. MapMyFitness [MMF]) in changing adolescent girls’ PA behaviour during weekends. It also examined the perceived benefits, challenges and recommendations for using mobile apps. Thirty-six participants aged 15 years ( Mage = 14.9; SD = 0.30) from a convenience sample volunteered and took part in the present study, which spanned four weekends. Quantitative results showed a significant difference in the mean step count between experimental and control groups during week two, probably due to the novelty effect when the participants were introduced to the new MMF mobile app. Overall, the use of the MMF app seems to be able to attenuate the decline of adolescent girls’ PA level during weekends. Qualitative results revealed benefits of using mobile apps to promote PA, such as a sense of autonomy in selecting PA, the ability to view friends’ postings of PA and self-monitoring of PA. The study revealed specific challenges to using such PA mobile apps - in particular, factors such as the cumbersome and confusing functions in the app that discouraged users from performing PA. Recommendations included allowing users to customise their accounts, simplifying the app’s functions, and including rewards and videos as motivators to enhance users’ PA experience. Although mobile apps may have the potential to encourage participation in PA, a careful selection of mobile app functions is required to engage adolescent girls to continue to use it for PA.

Mobile Applications for Health Management of Older Adults: A Scoping Review (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nurul Asilah Ahmad ◽  
Shahrul Azman Mohd Noah ◽  
Arimi Fitri Mat Ludin ◽  
Suzana Shahar ◽  
Noorlaili Mohd Tohit
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Goal Setting ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Health Management ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Personalized Feedback ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
App Store ◽  
Evidenced Based ◽  
Google Play

BACKGROUND Currently, the use of smartphones to deliver health-related content has experienced a rapid growth, with more than 165,000 mobile health (mHealth) applications currently available in the digital marketplace such as iOS store and Google Play. Among these, there are several mobile applications (mobile apps) that offer tools for disease prevention and management among older generations. These mobile apps could potentially promote health behaviors which will reduce or delay the onset of disease. However, no review to date that has focused on the app marketplace specific for older adults and little is known regarding its evidence-based quality towards the health of older adults. OBJECTIVE The aim of this review was to characterize and critically appraise the content and functionality of mobile apps that focuses on health management and/or healthy lifestyle among older adults. METHODS An electronic search was conducted between May 2019 to December 2019 of the official app store for two major smartphone operating systems: iPhone operating system (iTunes App Store) and Android (Google Play Store). Stores were searched separately using predetermined search terms. Two authors screened apps based on information provided in the app description. Metadata from all included apps were abstracted into a standard assessment criteria form. Evidenced based strategies and health care expert involvement of included apps was assessed. Evidenced based strategies included: self-monitoring, goal setting, physical activity support, healthy eating support, weight and/or health assessment, personalized feedback, motivational strategies, cognitive training and social support. Two authors verified the data with reference to the apps and downloaded app themselves. RESULTS A total of 16 apps met the inclusion criteria. Six out of 16 (37.5%) apps were designed exclusively for the iOS platform while ten out of 16 (62.5%) were designed for Android platform exclusively. Physical activity component was the most common feature offered in all the apps (9/16, 56.3%) and followed by cognitive training (8/16, 50.0%). Diet/nutrition (0/16, 0%) feature, however, was not offered on all reviewed mobile apps. Of reviewed apps, 56.3% (9/16) provide education, 37.5% (6/16) provide self-monitoring features, 18.8% (3/16) provide goal setting features, 18.5% (3/16) provide personalized feedback, 6.3% (1/16) provide social support and none of the reviewed apps offers heart rate monitoring and reminder features to the users. CONCLUSIONS All reviewed mobile apps for older adults in managing health did not focused on diet/nutrition component, lack of functional components and lack of health care professional involvement in their development process. There is also a need to carry out scientific testing prior to the development of the app to ensure cost effective and its health benefits to older adults. Collaborative efforts between developers, researchers, health professionals and patients are needed in developing evidence-based, high quality mobile apps in managing health prior they are made available in the app store.

Assessment and Prediction of Privacy Concerns on Health Apps (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Reham AlTamime ◽  
Vincent Marmion ◽  
Wendy Hall
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Retention Rate ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Third Party ◽  
Privacy Concerns ◽  
Health Apps ◽  
Mobile Health Apps ◽  
Specific Factors ◽  
And Control

BACKGROUND Mobile apps and IoT-enabled smartphones technologies facilitate collecting, sharing, and inferring from a vast amount of data about individuals’ location, health conditions, mobility status, and other factors. The use of such technology highlights the importance of understanding individuals’ privacy concerns to design applications that integrate their privacy expectations and requirements. OBJECTIVE This paper explores, assesses, and predicts individuals’ privacy concerns in relation to collecting and disclosing data on mobile health apps. METHODS We designed a questionnaire to identify participants’ privacy concerns pertaining to a set of 432 mobile apps’ data collection and sharing scenarios. Participants were presented with 27 scenarios that varied across three categorical factors: (1) type of data collected (e.g. health, demographic, behavioral, and location); (2) data sharing (e.g., whether it is shared, and for what purpose); and, (3) retention rate (e.g., forever, until the purpose is satisfied, unspecified, week, or year). RESULTS Our findings show that type of data, data sharing, and retention rate are all factors that affect individuals’ privacy concerns. However, specific factors such as collecting and disclosing health data to a third-party tracker play a larger role than other factors in triggering privacy concerns. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that it is possible to predict privacy concerns based on these three factors. We propose design approaches that can improve users’ awareness and control of their data on mobile applications

scholarly journals Seeing Things Differently: The use of mobile app interpretation and its effect on visitor experience at two heritage sites in Aotearoa New Zealand

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jessica Aitken
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Qualitative Interviews ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Visitor Experience ◽  
Heritage Sites ◽  
High Street

<p>The practice of contemporary heritage interpretation has seen increased investment in digital technologies and more recently in mobile applications. However, few empirical studies assess how effective mobile apps are to the visitor experience of heritage sites. What kind of visitor experience do mobile apps provide? How do mobile apps deliver on the aims of interpretation for heritage sites? What types of apps work best? What are the challenges for developers and heritage professionals?  A qualitative research approach is used to examine two case studies; High Street Stories: the life and times of Christchurch’s High Street Precinct and IPENZ Engineering Tours: Wellington Heritage Walking Tour. These case studies ask what kind of experience mobile apps offer as an interpretation tool at these heritage sites. To investigate the topic, email interviews were carried out with heritage professionals and digital developers; together with qualitative interviews with visitors recruited to visit the case study sites using the mobile applications.   This study explores two current examples of mobile app technology in the heritage sector in a New Zealand context. The results of this study aim to augment current literature on the topic of digital interpretation. This study seeks to offer heritage managers and interpreters some key factors to consider when making decisions regarding the methods used to present and interpret heritage sites to visitors and in developing new interpretation and digital strategies that include mobile applications. Although each scenario presents its particular set of considerations and all heritage sites are different, it is hoped these recommendations can be applied and offer working models and strategies.</p>

scholarly journals Using the Habit App for Weight Loss Problem Solving: Development and Feasibility Study (Preprint)

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sherry Pagoto ◽  
Bengisu Tulu ◽  
Emmanuel Agu ◽  
Molly E Waring ◽  
Jessica L Oleski ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Problem Solving ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Behavioral Weight Loss ◽  
Problem Solving Therapy ◽  
Pilot Studies ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Problem Solving Skills ◽  
Automated Delivery

BACKGROUND Reviews of weight loss mobile apps have revealed they include very few evidence-based features, relying mostly on self-monitoring. Unfortunately, adherence to self-monitoring is often low, especially among patients with motivational challenges. One behavioral strategy that is leveraged in virtually every visit of behavioral weight loss interventions and is specifically used to deal with adherence and motivational issues is problem solving. Problem solving has been successfully implemented in depression mobile apps, but not yet in weight loss apps. OBJECTIVE This study describes the development and feasibility testing of the Habit app, which was designed to automate problem-solving therapy for weight loss. METHODS Two iterative single-arm pilot studies were conducted to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the Habit app. In each pilot study, adults who were overweight or obese were enrolled in an 8-week intervention that included the Habit app plus support via a private Facebook group. Feasibility outcomes included retention, app usage, usability, and acceptability. Changes in problem-solving skills and weight over 8 weeks are described, as well as app usage and weight change at 16 weeks. RESULTS Results from both pilots show acceptable use of the Habit app over 8 weeks with on average two to three uses per week, the recommended rate of use. Acceptability ratings were mixed such that 54% (13/24) and 73% (11/15) of participants found the diet solutions helpful and 71% (17/24) and 80% (12/15) found setting reminders for habits helpful in pilots 1 and 2, respectively. In both pilots, participants lost significant weight (P=.005 and P=.03, respectively). In neither pilot was an effect on problem-solving skills observed (P=.62 and P=.27, respectively). CONCLUSIONS Problem-solving therapy for weight loss is feasible to implement in a mobile app environment; however, automated delivery may not impact problem-solving skills as has been observed previously via human delivery. CLINICALTRIAL ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02192905; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT02192905 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/6zPQmvOF2)

Investigating the Effect of Positive, Intermediate and Negative Enabling and Training Factors Affecting Physical Activity in Pregnant Women

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leila Kianfard ◽  
Farkhonde Amin SHokravi ◽  
Sakineh Rakhshanderou ◽  
Shamsaddin Niknami
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Pregnant Women ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Control Groups ◽  
Enabling Factors ◽  
Factors Affecting ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
E Learning ◽  
And Control ◽  
Experimental Group

Abstract BackgroundPhysical activity during pregnancy period is one of the issues with priority during pregnancy period. Researches show that women reduce their physical activity during this period and are unaware of the benefits on the health of the mother and embryology. Although researchers regarding physical activity during pregnancy have prepared many guidelines; it is not however clear why pregnant women do not perform physical activity and the effectiveness factors that facilitate the desired behavior. MethodsThe research population included all pregnant women aged 18 to 40 years with gestational age of 12-38 weeks referring to the healthcare centers in District 5 of Tehran Municipality, from 22 districts of the city who had eliminated their physical activity during pregnancy. Questionnaires of physical activity assessment questionnaire after educational intervention in pregnant women (PPAQ) and a questionnaire designed based on the results of the needs assessment and the dimensions of the PEN-3 model were used for assessment. This study is a Research Clinical Trial (RCT). Due to the nature, a quasi-experimental research design (pre-test, post-test) with the control group was used in this research. ResultsBased on the obtained results, the intervention based on E-learning has a significant effect of enabling factors to increase physical activity in pregnant women in the experimental group. In addition, the intervention based on E-learning has a significant effect on the training factors in order to increase physical activity in pregnant women in the experimental group. ConclusionBased on the research results, it can be said that there is a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the scores obtained from training factors in the pretest and the experimental group. Furthermore, it can be said that there is a statistically significant difference between the experimental and control groups in the scores obtained from the enabling factors in the pre-test and the experimental group.

scholarly journals Make a Move Intervention to Reduce Childhood Obesity

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 205-213 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kimberly Nerud ◽  
Haifa (Abou). Samra
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Head Start ◽  
Healthy Eating ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
And Control ◽  
Relationship Of

Guided by the social cognitive theory, this randomized controlled trial tested the “Make a Move,” a provider-led intervention for Head Start parents aimed to produce changes in the outcomes of knowledge, attitude, and behavior of physical activity and healthy eating. Participants were parents of children ages 3–5 years enrolled in a Head Start program. Participants completed a 57-item questionnaire at baseline and postintervention. The Wilcoxon rank-sum test revealed a statistically significant difference between the intervention and control groups in scores on knowledge of healthy eating ( z = 1.99, p = .05), attitude of physical activity ( z = 2.71, p < .01), and behavior of physical activity ( z = 2.03, p = .04). Ten participants (77%) completed all four intervention sessions. This study provided new insights into the relationship of a provider-led intervention with respect to knowledge, attitude, and behaviors in healthy eating and physical activity.

scholarly journals Impacto de las apps móviles en la actividad física: un meta-análisis (Impact of mobile apps on physical activity: A meta-analysis)

Retos ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 52-57 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inmaculada Aznar Díaz ◽  
María Pilar Cáceres Reche ◽  
Juan Manuel Trujillo Torres ◽  
José María Romero Rodríguez
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Application ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Research Papers ◽  
Design Data ◽  
Revisión Sistemática ◽  
The Subject ◽  
Experimental Group

El uso de aplicaciones (apps) móviles en la práctica deportiva se ha convertido en algo habitual. Cada vez es más común ver a personas practicando deporte mientras utiliza su dispositivo móvil para medir su rendimiento o simplemente por el hecho de estar usando una app lúdica que requiere el desplazamiento. Por tanto, debido a la relevancia de la temática, en este estudio se propuso como objetivo analizar el efecto de las aplicaciones móviles en la actividad física a partir de la revisión de las investigaciones indexadas en las bases de datos Scopus y PubMed (2013-2018). La metodología utilizada ha sido una revisión sistemática con meta-análisis, poniendo el foco de interés concretamente en cinco variables de análisis en base a estudios previos: muestra, aplicación móvil, diseño metodológico, instrumentos de recogida de datos y principales hallazgos. La muestra se compuso por investigaciones de carácter empírico con mínimo de un grupo experimental y otro control (n = 18). Entre los resultados, se constata la variabilidad de apps utilizadas en la actividad física, así como el efecto estadísticamente significativo a favor del grupo experimental. Finalmente, los dispositivos móviles son un potente recurso para la mejora y aumento de la práctica deportiva, al mismo tiempo que se establecen nuevos componentes motivacionales para realizar deporte y sus implicaciones en la enseñanza de la educación física.Abstract. The use of mobile applications (apps) in sports has become common practice. It is increasingly common to see people practicing sports while using their mobile device to measure their performance or simply because they are using a playful app that requires movement. Therefore, due to the relevance of the subject, this study aimed to analyse the effect of mobile applications on physical activity from the review of the research indexed in the Scopus and PubMed databases (2013-2018). The methodology used was a systematic review with meta-analysis, placing the focus of interest specifically on five analysis variables based on previous studies: sample, mobile application, methodological design, data collection instruments, and main findings. The sample was composed of empirical research papers with at least one experimental group and another control (n = 18). Among the results, the variability of apps used in physical activity is verified, as well as the statistically significant effect in favour of the experimental group. Finally, mobile devices are a powerful resource for the improvement and increase of sports practice, while establishing new motivational components for sports and their implications in the teaching of physical education.

scholarly journals Attention allocation on mobile app interfaces when human interacts with them

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Li Zhu ◽  
Gaochao Cui ◽  
Yan Li ◽  
Jianhai Zhang ◽  
Wanzeng Kong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Fixation Duration ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Attention Allocation ◽  
Eye Tracker ◽  
Fixation Durations ◽  
Total Fixation ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Bottom Left ◽  
Left Region

AbstractWith the popularity of smartphones and the pervasion of mobile apps, people spend more and more time to interact with a diversity of apps on their smartphones, especially for young population. This raises a question: how people allocate attention to interfaces of apps during using them. To address this question, we, in this study, designed an experiment with two sessions (i.e., Session1: browsing original interfaces; Session 2: browsing interfaces after removal of colors and background) integrating with an eyetracking system. Attention fixation durations were recorded by an eye-tracker while participants browsed app interfaces. The whole screen of smartphone was divided into four even regions to explore fixation durations. The results revealed that participants gave significantly longer total fixation duration on the bottom left region compared to other regions in the session (1) Longer total fixation duration on the bottom was preserved, but there is no significant difference between left side and right side in the session2. Similar to the finding of total fixation duration, first fixation duration is also predominantly paid on the bottom area of the interface. Moreover, the skill in the use of mobile phone was quantified by assessing familiarity and accuracy of phone operation and was investigated in the association with the fixation durations. We found that first fixation duration of the bottom left region is significantly negatively correlated with the smartphone operation level in the session 1, but there is no significant correlation between them in the session (2) According to the results of ratio exploration, the ratio of the first fixation duration to the total fixation duration is not significantly different between areas of interest for both sessions. The findings of this study provide insights into the attention allocation during browsing app interfaces and are of implications on the design of app interfaces and advertisements as layout can be optimized according to the attention allocation to maximally deliver information.

scholarly journals Mobile Apps to Fight the COVID-19 Crisis

Data ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 106
Author(s):  
Chrisa Tsinaraki ◽  
Irena Mitton ◽  
Marco Minghini ◽  
Marina Micheli ◽  
Alexander Kotsev ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Mobile Applications ◽  
Mobile Apps ◽  
Mobile App ◽  
Digital Tools ◽  
Qualitative Information ◽  
Complementary Information ◽  
Manual Analysis ◽  
Status Information ◽  
Google Play

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a multi-faceted global crisis, which triggered the diverse and quickly emerging use of old and new digital tools. We have developed a multi-channel approach for the monitoring and analysis of a subset of such tools, the COVID-19 related mobile applications (apps). Our approach builds on the information available in the two most prominent app stores (i.e., Google Play for Android-powered devices and Apple’s App Store for iOS-powered devices), as well as on relevant tweets and digital media outlets. The dataset presented here is one of the outcomes of this approach, uses the content of the app stores and enriches it, providing aggregated information about 837 mobile apps published across the world to fight the COVID-19 crisis. This information includes: (a) information available in the mobile app stores between 20 April 2020 and 2 August 2020; (b) complementary information obtained from manual analysis performed until mid-September 2020; and (c) status information about app availability on 28 February 2021, when we last collected data from the mobile app stores. We highlight our findings with a series of descriptives, which depict both the activities in the app stores and the qualitative information that was revealed by the manual analysis.

scholarly journals Impact of Diary Writing Practice on Mental Health of Adolescent Girls

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 56-62
Author(s):  
PRAGYA SINGH LODHI ◽  
DEEPAK SINGH ◽  
GUNJAN SHARMA
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Adolescent Girls ◽  
Control Group ◽  
First Year ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Diary Writing ◽  
Independent Variable ◽  
And Control ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Writing Practice

This study has been conducted to study the impact of diary writing on mental health of adolescent girls. A sample of 100 girlsfrom Shri Ram Collage Muzaffernagar (U.P.), who are studying in first year of graduation, was selected from accidental sampling method.Sample was divided into two groups, 50 in experimental group and 50 in control group. Diary writing was selected as the independent variable, which was appliedfor 3 months where girls used to write down their thoughts and feelings; independently 30 minutes each for 5 days a week. Mental health of girls was assessed using the ‘Mental Health Inventory’. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using the SPSS software (version 18) the result indicated that there was a significant difference between experimental and control group on the level of mental health of adolescent girls. The findings of this study indicate that the practice of diary writing significantly improved the level of mental health of adolescent girls.

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