Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app.

Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C; Grunseit, A; Holtermann, A; Steiner, S; Tudor-Locke, C; Koster, A; Johnson, N; Maher, C; Ahmadi, M; Chau, JY; Stamatakis, E

Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app.

Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C Grunseit, A

Holtermann, A Steiner, S Tudor-Locke, C Koster, A Johnson, N Maher, C Ahmadi, M Chau, JY Stamatakis, E

Permalink

Publisher:: BMC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: BMC Public Health, 2024, 24, (1), pp. 2182
Issue Date:: 2024-08-12

Open Access

Copyright Clearance Process

Recently Added
In Progress
Open Access

This item is open access.

Adobe PDF

Download Published versionAdobe PDF (1.46 MB)

View on publisher's site

View statistics

Full metadata record

Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Thøgersen-Ntoumani, C
dc.contributor.author	Grunseit, A https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1250-3265
dc.contributor.author	Holtermann, A
dc.contributor.author	Steiner, S
dc.contributor.author	Tudor-Locke, C
dc.contributor.author	Koster, A
dc.contributor.author	Johnson, N
dc.contributor.author	Maher, C
dc.contributor.author	Ahmadi, M
dc.contributor.author	Chau, JY
dc.contributor.author	Stamatakis, E
dc.date.accessioned	2024-09-05T09:04:04Z
dc.date.available	2024-07-22
dc.date.available	2024-09-05T09:04:04Z
dc.date.issued	2024-08-12
dc.identifier.citation	BMC Public Health, 2024, 24, (1), pp. 2182
dc.identifier.issn	1471-2458
dc.identifier.issn	1471-2458
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/180640
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Most adults fail to meet the moderate to vigorous physical activity-based recommendations needed to maintain or improve health. Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA) refers to short (1-2 min) high-intensity activities that are integrated into activities of daily living. VILPA has shown strong potential to improve health and addresses commonly reported barriers to physical activity. However, it is unknown how VILPA can best be promoted among the adult population. This study aimed to evaluate the usability, user engagement, and satisfaction of a mobile application (MovSnax) designed to promote VILPA. METHODS: A concurrent mixed methods design was used. It comprised four parts. Part A was a survey with n = 8 mHealth and physical activity experts who had used the app over 7-10 days. Part B was think-aloud interviews with n = 5 end-users aged 40-65 years old. Part C was a survey with a new group of 40-65-year-old end-users (n = 35) who had used the MovSnax app over 7-10 days. Part D was semi-structured interviews with n = 18 participants who took part in Part C. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the results from Parts A, B, and D, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze findings from Part C. RESULTS: Participants reported positive views on the MovSnax app for promoting VILPA but also identified usability issues such as unclear purpose, difficulties in manual data entry, and limited customization options. Across the different data collections, they consistently emphasized the need for more motivational features, clearer feedback, and gamification elements to enhance engagement. Quantitative assessment showed satisfactory scores on objective measures but lower ratings on subjective aspects, possibly due to unfamiliarity with the VILPA concept and/or technical barriers. CONCLUSIONS: The MovSnax app, tested in the present study, is the world's first digital tool aimed specifically at increasing VILPA. The findings of the present study underscore the need for further app refinement, focusing on clarifying its purpose and instructions, boosting user engagement through personalization and added motivational elements, enhancing accuracy in detecting VILPA bouts, implementing clearer feedback mechanisms, expanding customization choices (such as font size and comparative data), and ensuring transparent and meaningful activity tracking.
dc.format	Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	BMC
dc.relation.ispartof	BMC Public Health
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1186/s12889-024-19549-9
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject.classification	Public Health
dc.subject.classification	4202 Epidemiology
dc.subject.classification	4203 Health services and systems
dc.subject.classification	4206 Public health
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Mobile Applications
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Exercise
dc.subject.mesh	Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Health Promotion
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires
dc.subject.mesh	Life Style
dc.subject.mesh	Qualitative Research
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Exercise
dc.subject.mesh	Life Style
dc.subject.mesh	Qualitative Research
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Health Promotion
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Mobile Applications
dc.subject.mesh	Surveys and Questionnaires
dc.title	Promoting vigorous intermittent lifestyle physical activity (vilpa) in middle-aged adults: an evaluation of the movsnax mobile app.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	24
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health/Public Health
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2024-09-05T09:03:58Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published online
pubs.volume	24
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Most adults fail to meet the moderate to vigorous physical activity-based recommendations needed to maintain or improve health. Vigorous Intermittent Lifestyle Physical Activity (VILPA) refers to short (1-2 min) high-intensity activities that are integrated into activities of daily living. VILPA has shown strong potential to improve health and addresses commonly reported barriers to physical activity. However, it is unknown how VILPA can best be promoted among the adult population. This study aimed to evaluate the usability, user engagement, and satisfaction of a mobile application (MovSnax) designed to promote VILPA. METHODS: A concurrent mixed methods design was used. It comprised four parts. Part A was a survey with n = 8 mHealth and physical activity experts who had used the app over 7-10 days. Part B was think-aloud interviews with n = 5 end-users aged 40-65 years old. Part C was a survey with a new group of 40-65-year-old end-users (n = 35) who had used the MovSnax app over 7-10 days. Part D was semi-structured interviews with n = 18 participants who took part in Part C. Directed content analysis was used to analyze the results from Parts A, B, and D, and descriptive statistics were used to analyze findings from Part C. RESULTS: Participants reported positive views on the MovSnax app for promoting VILPA but also identified usability issues such as unclear purpose, difficulties in manual data entry, and limited customization options. Across the different data collections, they consistently emphasized the need for more motivational features, clearer feedback, and gamification elements to enhance engagement. Quantitative assessment showed satisfactory scores on objective measures but lower ratings on subjective aspects, possibly due to unfamiliarity with the VILPA concept and/or technical barriers. CONCLUSIONS: The MovSnax app, tested in the present study, is the world's first digital tool aimed specifically at increasing VILPA. The findings of the present study underscore the need for further app refinement, focusing on clarifying its purpose and instructions, boosting user engagement through personalization and added motivational elements, enhancing accuracy in detecting VILPA bouts, implementing clearer feedback mechanisms, expanding customization choices (such as font size and comparative data), and ensuring transparent and meaningful activity tracking.

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item:

http://hdl.handle.net/10453/180640