Despite its benefits to both physical and mental health, physical activity
levels worldwide remain low and new solutions for behaviour change must
be sought. Smartphone apps are extremely popular and prevalent across the
population, however their quality is still questionable. Physical activity
produces an acute ‘feel good’ effect and intervention designers should
consider the role that affect (mood) plays in uptake and maintenance of
behaviours. It is timely to examine the use of affect as a motivator for
physical activity, using new tools that allow real-time capture of both affect
and physical activity (smartphones). The existence, characteristics and
quality of physical activity apps that provide feedback on affect were
explored in this thesis
A mixed methods approach, comprising a systematic review (study 1) and a
systematic evaluation (study 2) was taken. Data collection methods included
both quantitative and qualitative assessments, using pre-existing and fit-for purpose tools.
Twenty-two physical activity apps that provided feedback on affect were
identified. Apps often failed to target groups most at risk of poor physical
activity levels. Feedback on affect was performed in a variety of ways.
Quality of apps, based on 13 criteria, was mixed. Recommendations are
made for researchers, app developers and funders, including the need for
development of high quality physical activity apps incorporating and
emphasising affective benefits, consideration of archiving processes for
developed apps once development ceases, and collaboration between
researchers, developers and users when designing apps.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/18221 |
| Date | January 2019 |
| Creators | Lamming, Laura |
| Contributors | Kellar, Ian, Mohammed, Mohammed A. |
| Publisher | University of Bradford, Faculty of Health Studies |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, research masters, MPhil |
| Rights | <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. |
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