scholarly journals Health Promotion through Monetary Incentives: Evaluating the Impact of Different Reinforcement Schedules on Engagement Levels with a mHealth App

Electronics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (23) ◽  
pp. 2935
Author(s):  
Raoul Nuijten ◽  
Pieter Van Gorp ◽  
Alireza Khanshan ◽  
Pascale Le Blanc ◽  
Astrid Kemperman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
User Engagement ◽  
Monetary Incentives ◽  
Reinforcement Schedules ◽  
Personality Differences ◽  
Randomized Intervention ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Mhealth Apps ◽  
Variable Reinforcement

Background: Financial rewards can be employed in mHealth apps to effectively promote health behaviors. However, the optimal reinforcement schedule—with a high impact, but relatively low costs—remains unclear. Methods: We evaluated the impact of different reinforcement schedules on engagement levels with a mHealth app in a six-week, three-arm randomized intervention trial, while taking into account personality differences. Participants (i.e., university staff and students, N = 61) were awarded virtual points for performing health-related activities. Their performance was displayed via a dashboard, leaderboard, and newsfeed. Additionally, participants could win financial rewards. These rewards were distributed using a fixed schedule in the first study arm, and a variable schedule in the other arms. Furthermore, payouts were immediate in the first two arms, whereas payouts in the third arm were delayed. Results: All three reinforcement schedules had a similar impact on user engagement, although the variable schedule with immediate payouts was reported to have the lowest cost per participant. Additionally, the impact of financial rewards was affected by personal characteristics. Especially, individuals that were triggered by the rewards had a greater ability to defer gratification. Conclusion: When employing financial rewards in mHealth apps, variable reinforcement schedules with immediate payouts are preferred from the perspective of cost and impact.

scholarly journals The Web-Based Randomized Controlled Intervention as the Enhancer of Cancer Prevention

Medicina ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 55 (8) ◽  
pp. 434 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maksymilian Gajda ◽  
Małgorzata Kowalska
Keyword(s):  
Educational Intervention ◽  
Needle Aspiration ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Medical Procedures ◽  
Cancer Knowledge ◽  
Abdominal Ultrasonography ◽  
Related Information ◽  
Randomized Intervention ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

Background and Objectives: Cancer is an unresolved public health issue in society. With the advent of the internet and the development in the technological sector, access to basic health-related information has become more frequent among patients and healthy individuals. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of educational intervention on the participant’s willingness to undergo selected medical procedures in case of suspected cancer. Materials and Methods: From 14 May 2015 to 13 November 2016, a total of 1118 who visited the Polish scientific website were enrolled in the ‘Polish Online Randomized Intervention aimed at Neoplasm Avoidance’ (PORINA) and randomized into two groups (educational and control). The original Cancer Knowledge Index (CKI) was used for the evaluation of participants’ cancer-related knowledge. They were asked to declare whether they would consent to undergo selected medical procedures necessary for cancer diagnosis or treatment. Results: Most participants declared their readiness to undergo abdominal ultrasonography, computed tomography, and a nevi excision. The most noticeable changes were found for potential consent to undergo breast fine needle aspiration, mammography and gastroscopy. Conclusions: The level of oncological knowledge has an impact on individual decision to consent to particular medical procedures. Conducted educational intervention has significantly increased the readiness to undergo selected medical procedures.

The Impact of Library Programs on the Level of Reader Development of Schoolchildren

2013 ◽  
pp. 60-65
Author(s):  
Oksana L. Kabatcheck
Keyword(s):  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Psychological Study ◽  
The Impact

The article presents the results of experimental-psychological study of the efficiency of three copyrighted library programs, designed to develop reading and personal characteristics of the younger schoolchildren. Using the author’s scale of literary (reader) development, there are demonstrated the strengths and weaknesses of programs, referring to the author's or reader's position.

ACCESSIBLE HOUSING AND HEALTH-RELATED QUALITY OF LIFE: MEASUREMENTS OF WELLBEING OUTCOMES FOLLOWING HOME MODIFICATIONS

2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Phillippa Carnemolla ◽  
Catherine Bridge
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Mixed Method ◽  
Exploratory Research ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Care Giving ◽  
Home Modifications ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

The multi-dimensional relationship between housing and population health is now well recognised internationally, across both developing and developed nations. This paper examines a dimension within the housing and health relationship – accessibility – that to date has been considered difficult to measure. This paper reports on the mixed method results of larger mixed-method, exploratory study designed to measure the impact of home modifications on Health-Related Quality of Life, supported by qualitative data of recipients’ experiences of home modifications. Data was gathered from 157 Australian HACC clients, who had received home modifications. Measurements were taken for both before and after home modifications and reveal that home modifications were associated with an average 40% increase in Health-Related Quality of Life levels. The qualitative results revealed that participants positively associated home modifications across six effect themes: increased safety and confidence, improved mobility at home, increased independence, supported care-giving role, increased social participation, and ability to return home from hospital. This exploratory research gives an insight into the potential for accessible architecture to impact improvements in community health and wellbeing.

Just Like Leaves in the Wind? Exploring the Effect of the Interplay of Media Coverage and Personal Characteristics on Issue Salience

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Agatha Kratz ◽  
Harald Schoen
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Financial Crisis ◽  
Media Coverage ◽  
News Coverage ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Election Campaign ◽  
Issue Salience ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Impact

This chapter explores the effect of the interplay of personal characteristics and news coverage on issue salience during the 2009 to 2015 period and during the election campaign in 2013. We selected four topics that played a considerable role during this period: the labor market, pensions and healthcare, immigration, and the financial crisis. The evidence from pooled cross-sectional data and panel data supports the notion that news coverage affects citizens’ issue salience. For obtrusive issues, news coverage does not play as large a role as for rather remote topics like the financial crisis and immigration. The results also lend credence to the idea that political predilections and other individual differences are related to issue salience and constrain the impact of news coverage on voters’ issue salience. However, the evidence for the interplay of individual differences and media coverage proved mild at best.

Eating Behavior of Brazilian College Students: Influences of Lifestyle, Negative Affectivity, and Personal Characteristics

2020 ◽  
pp. 003151252098308
Author(s):  
Bianca G. Martins ◽  
Wanderson R. da Silva ◽  
João Marôco ◽  
Juliana A. D. B. Campos
Keyword(s):  
College Students ◽  
Eating Behavior ◽  
Emotional Eating ◽  
Eating Behaviors ◽  
Structural Model ◽  
Negative Affectivity ◽  
Personal Characteristics ◽  
Second Order ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Relationship

In this study we proposed to estimate the impact of lifestyle, negative affectivity, and college students’ personal characteristics on eating behavior. We aimed to verify that negative affectivity moderates the relationship between lifestyle and eating behavior. We assessed eating behaviors of cognitive restraint (CR), uncontrolled eating (UE), and emotional eating (EE)) with the Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire-18. We assessed lifestyle with the Individual Lifestyle Profile, and we assessed negative affectivity with the Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale-21. We constructed and tested (at p < .05) a hypothetical causal structural model that considered global (second-order) and specific (first-order) lifestyle components, negative affectivity and sample characteristics for each eating behavior dimension. Participants were 1,109 college students ( M age = 20.9, SD = 2.7 years; 65.7% females). We found significant impacts of lifestyle second-order components on negative affectivity (β = −0.57–0.19; p < 0.001–0.01) in all models. Physical and psychological lifestyle components impacted directly only on CR (β=−0.32–0.81; p < 0.001). Negative affectivity impacted UE and EE (β = 0.23–0.30; p < 0.001). For global models, we found no mediation pathways between lifestyle and CR or UE. For specific models, negative affectivity was a mediator between stress management and UE (β=−0.07; p < 0.001). Negative affectivity also mediated the relationship between thoughts of dropping an undergraduate course and UE and EE (β = 0.06–0.08; p < 0.001). Participant sex and weight impacted all eating behavior dimensions (β = 0.08–0.34; p < 0.001–0.01). Age was significant for UE and EE (β=−0,14– −0.09; p < 0.001–0.01). Economic stratum influenced only CR (β = 0.08; p = 0.01). In sum, participants’ lifestyle, negative emotions and personal characteristics were all relevant for eating behavior assessment.

scholarly journals The impact of lymphedema on health-related quality of life up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mads G. Jørgensen ◽  
Navid M. Toyserkani ◽  
Frederik G. Hansen ◽  
Anette Bygum ◽  
Jens A. Sørensen
Keyword(s):  
Breast Cancer ◽  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Cancer Treatment ◽  
Breast Cancer Treatment ◽  
Health Related Quality ◽  
Related Quality ◽  
Health Related ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe impact of breast cancer-related lymphedema (BCRL) on long-term quality of life is unknown. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of BCRL on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) up to 10 years after breast cancer treatment. This regional population-based study enrolled patients treated for breast cancer with axillary lymph node dissection between January 1st 2007 and December 31th 2017. Follow up and assessments of the included patients were conducted between January 2019 and May 2020. The study outcome was HRQoL, evaluated with the Lymphedema Functioning, Disability and Health Questionnaire, the Disabilities of the Arm, Shoulder and Hand Questionnaire and the Short Form (36) Health Survey Questionnaire. Multivariate linear logistic regression models adjusted for confounders provided mean score differences (MDs) with 95% confidence intervals in each HRQoL scale and item. This study enrolled 244 patients with BCRL and 823 patients without BCRL. Patients with BCRL had significantly poorer HRQoL than patients without BCRL in 16 out of 18 HRQoL subscales, for example, in physical function (MDs 27, 95%CI: 24; 30), mental health (MDs 24, 95%CI: 21; 27) and social role functioning (MDs 20, 95%CI: 17; 23). Age, BMI, BCRL severity, hand and dominant arm affection had only minor impact on HRQoL (MDs < 5), suggesting a high degree of inter-individual variation in coping with lymphedema. This study showed that BCRL is associated with long-term impairments in HRQoL, especially affecting the physical and psychosocial domains. Surprisingly, BCRL diagnosis rather than clinical severity drove the largest impairments in HRQoL.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document