Evidence map›Paper›PMID 31774402›Full record

Trial reportJournal of medical Internet research2019

User Engagement and Attrition in an App-Based Physical Activity Intervention: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Sarah Edney, Jillian C Ryan, Tim Olds, Courtney Monroe, François Fraysse, Corneel Vandelanotte, Ronald Plotnikoff, Rachel Curtis, Carol Maher

2 registry-linked trialsAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Trial report in Journal of medical Internet research, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 74 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
74citing papers in PubMed, 5 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05003518 naterminatednot on this mapstarted 2022, after this paper: background citation

ParentText User Engagement and Effectiveness Study

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversity of OxfordRan2022 to 2022Enrolled1,400ConditionsEngagement, Positive Parenting, Child Maltreatment, Intimate Partner ViolenceArmsParentText
NCT05571124 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

The Implementation of a Web-based Workplace Exercise Intervention in the Reduction of Spinal Pain in Sedentary Administrative Personnel: Protocol of a Mixed Methodology Study.

TypeinterventionalSponsorUniversitat de LleidaRan2023 to 2024Enrolled66ConditionsBack Pain, Sedentary BehaviorArmsTherapeutic Exercise Intervention
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

74 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Sarah EdneyAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3925-517X
Jillian C RyanHealth and Biosecurity, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-0655-3047
Tim OldsAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-6894-5519
Courtney MonroeArnold School of Public Health, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States.ORCID 0000-0002-8532-9731
François FraysseAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-7204-2478
Corneel VandelanottePhysical Activity Research Group, Appleton Institute, School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences, Central Queensland University, Rockhampton, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-4445-8094
Ronald PlotnikoffPriority Research Centre for Physical Activity and Nutrition, The University of Newcastle, Newcastle, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-3763-8273
Rachel CurtisAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-1341-7804
Carol MaherAlliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity, University of South Australia, Adelaide, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8676-0224

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe success of a mobile phone app in changing health behavior is thought to be contingent on engagement, commonly operationalized as frequency of use.

objectiveThis subgroup analysis of the 2 intervention arms from a 3-group randomized controlled trial aimed to examine user engagement with a 100-day physical activity intervention delivered via an app. Rates of engagement, associations between user characteristics and engagement, and whether engagement was related to intervention efficacy were examined.

methodsEngagement was captured in a real-time log of interactions by users randomized to either a gamified (n=141) or nongamified version of the same app (n=160). Physical activity was assessed via accelerometry and self-report at baseline and 3-month follow-up. Survival analysis was used to assess time to nonuse attrition. Mixed models examined associations between user characteristics and engagement (total app use). Characteristics of super users (top quartile of users) and regular users (lowest 3 quartiles) were compared using t tests and a chi-square analysis. Linear mixed models were used to assess whether being a super user was related to change in physical activity over time.

resultsEngagement was high. Attrition (30 days of nonuse) occurred in 32% and 39% of the gamified and basic groups, respectively, with no significant between-group differences in time to attrition (P=.17). Users with a body mass index (BMI) in the healthy range had higher total app use (mean 230.5, 95% CI 190.6-270.5; F

conclusionsTotal app use was high across the 100-day intervention period, and the inclusion of gamified features enhanced engagement. Participants who engaged the most saw significantly greater increases to their objectively measured physical activity over time, supporting the theory that intervention exposure is linked to efficacy. Further research is needed to determine whether these findings are replicated in other app-based interventions, including those experimentally evaluating engagement and those conducted in real-world settings.

trial registrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTRN12617000113358; https://www.anzctr.org.au/ACTRN12617000113358.aspx.

Indexed as

AdultExerciseFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedMobile ApplicationsPatient Participationbehaviorphysical activitysmartphone

Identifiers

PMID31774402
PMCPMC6906621

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.