A Smartphone App to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Lower-Educated Working Young Adults: Development, Usability, Acceptability, and Feasibility Study

Dorien Simons; Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij; Peter Clarys; Katrien De Cocker; Corneel Vandelanotte; Benedicte Deforche

doi:10.2196/mhealth.8287

A Smartphone App to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Lower-Educated Working Young Adults: Development, Usability, Acceptability, and Feasibility Study

JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Feb 20;6(2):e44. doi: 10.2196/mhealth.8287.

Authors

Dorien Simons^{1

2}, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij³, Peter Clarys², Katrien De Cocker^{3

4}, Corneel Vandelanotte⁵, Benedicte Deforche¹

Affiliations

¹ Health Promotion and Education Unit, Department of Public Health, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
² Physical Activity, Nutrition and Health Research Unit, Faculty of Physical Education and Physical Therapy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium.
³ Department of Movement and Sport Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
⁴ Physically Active Lifestyles Research Group, Institute for Resilient Regions, University of Southern Queensland, Springfield Central, Australia.
⁵ Physical Activity Research Group, School for Health, Medical and Applied Science, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia.

Abstract

Background: Physical activity (PA) levels are problematic in lower-educated working young adults (18-26 years). To promote PA, smartphone apps have great potential, but there is no evidence for their effectiveness in this population. To increase the likelihood that a newly developed app will be effective, formative research and user testing are required.

Objective: The aim of this study was to describe the development, usability, acceptability, and feasibility of a new theory- and evidence-based smartphone app to promote an active lifestyle in lower-educated working young adults.

Methods: The new app was developed by applying 4 steps. First, determinants important to promote an active lifestyle in this population were selected. Second, evidence-based behavior change techniques were selected to convert the determinants into practical applications. Third, a new smartphone app was developed. Fourth, volunteers (n=11, both lower and higher educated) tested the app on usability, and lower-educated working young adults (n=16) tested its acceptability and feasibility via (think aloud) interviews, a questionnaire, and Google Analytics. The app was accordingly adapted for the final version.

Results: A new Android app, Active Coach, was developed that focused on knowledge, attitude, social support, and self-efficacy (based on outcomes from step 1), and that applied self-regulation techniques (based on outcomes from step 2). The app consists of a 9-week program with personal goals, practical tips, and scientific facts to encourage an active lifestyle. To ensure all-day and automatic self-monitoring of the activity behavior, the Active Coach app works in combination with a wearable activity tracker, the Fitbit Charge. Issues detected by the usability test (eg, text errors, wrong messages) were all fixed. The acceptability and feasibility test showed that participants found the app clear, understandable, and motivating, although some aspects needed to be more personal.

Conclusions: By applying a stepwise, user-centered approach that regularly consulted the target group, the new app is adapted to their specific needs and preferences. The Active Coach app was overall positively evaluated by the lower-educated working young adults at the end of the development process.

Keywords: active transport; health promotion; mHealth; mobile applications; physical activity; young adult.

©Dorien Simons, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Peter Clarys, Katrien De Cocker, Corneel Vandelanotte, Benedicte Deforche. Originally published in JMIR Mhealth and Uhealth (http://mhealth.jmir.org), 20.02.2018.