Effectiveness of an 8-Week Physical Activity Intervention Involving Wearable Activity Trackers and an eHealth App: Mixed Methods Study

Gavin R McCormack; Jennie Petersen; Dalia Ghoneim; Anita Blackstaffe; Calli Naish; Patricia K Doyle-Baker

doi:10.2196/37348

Effectiveness of an 8-Week Physical Activity Intervention Involving Wearable Activity Trackers and an eHealth App: Mixed Methods Study

JMIR Form Res. 2022 May 3;6(5):e37348. doi: 10.2196/37348.

Authors

Gavin R McCormack^{1

2

3

4}, Jennie Petersen^{1

5}, Dalia Ghoneim¹, Anita Blackstaffe¹, Calli Naish^{1

6}, Patricia K Doyle-Baker^{3

4

7}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
² Faculty of Sport Sciences, Waseda University, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁴ School of Planning, Architecture, and Landscape, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁵ Faculty of Applied Health Sciences, Brock University, St Catharines, ON, Canada.
⁶ Department of Communication, Media and Film, Faculty of Arts, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁷ Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.

PMID: 35404832
PMCID: PMC9115656
DOI: 10.2196/37348

Abstract

Background: Health-promotion interventions incorporating wearable technology or eHealth apps can encourage participants to self-monitor and modify their physical activity and sedentary behavior. In 2020, a Calgary (Alberta, Canada) recreational facility developed and implemented a health-promotion intervention (Vivo Play Scientist program) that provided a commercially available wearable activity tracker and a customized eHealth dashboard to participants free of cost.

Objective: The aim of this study was to independently evaluate the effectiveness of the Vivo Play Scientist program for modifying physical activity and sedentary behavior during the initial 8 weeks of the piloted intervention.

Methods: Our concurrent mixed methods study included a single-arm repeated-measures quasiexperiment and semistructured interviews. Among the 318 eligible participants (≥18 years of age) registered for the program, 87 completed three self-administered online surveys (baseline, T₀; 4 weeks, T₁; and 8 weeks, T₂). The survey captured physical activity, sedentary behavior, use of wearable technology and eHealth apps, and sociodemographic characteristics. Twenty-three participants were recruited using maximal-variation sampling and completed telephone-administered semistructured interviews regarding their program experiences. Self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior outcomes were statistically compared among the three time points using Friedman tests. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data.

Results: The mean age of participants was 39.8 (SD 7.4) years and 75% (65/87) were women. Approximately half of all participants had previously used wearable technology (40/87, 46%) or an eHealth app (43/87, 49%) prior to the intervention. On average, participants reported wearing the activity tracker (Garmin Vivofit4) for 6.4 (SD 1.7) days in the past week at T₁ and for 6.0 (SD 2.2) days in the past week at T₂. On average, participants reported using the dashboard for 1.6 (SD 2.1) days in the past week at T₁ and for 1.0 (SD 1.8) day in the past week at T₂. The mean time spent walking at 8 weeks was significantly higher compared with that at baseline (T₀ 180.34 vs T₂ 253.79 minutes/week, P=.005), with no significant differences for other physical activity outcomes. Compared to that at baseline, the mean time spent sitting was significantly lower at 4 weeks (T₀ 334.26 vs T₁ 260.46 minutes/day, P<.001) and 8 weeks (T₀ 334.26 vs T₂ 267.13 minutes/day, P<.001). Significant differences in physical activity and sitting between time points were found among subgroups based on the household composition, history of wearable technology use, and history of eHealth app use. Participants described how wearing the Vivofit4 device was beneficial in helping them to modify physical activity and sedentary behavior. The social support, as a result of multiple members of the same household participating in the program, motivated changes in physical activity. Participants experienced improvements in their mental, physical, and social health.

Conclusions: Providing individuals with free-of-cost commercially available wearable technology and an eHealth app has the potential to support increases in physical activity and reduce sedentary behavior in the short term, even under COVID-19 public health restrictions.

Keywords: COVID-19; activity tracker; digital health; eHealth; exercise; fitness; health promotion; intervention; mHealth; mixed methods study; physical activity; sensor; technology; wearable; wearable technology.

©Gavin R McCormack, Jennie Petersen, Dalia Ghoneim, Anita Blackstaffe, Calli Naish, Patricia K Doyle-Baker. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 03.05.2022.