Observational studyScience advances2023
A large-scale observational study of the causal effects of a behavioral health nudge.
Observational study in Science advances, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The effectiveness of nudge-based physical activity interventions in frail older adults: a systematic review.The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity · 2026Pooled it
- Smartphone application-based interventions for cardiometabolic risk factor management: A systematic review and meta-analysis.Hypertension research : official journal of the Japanese Society of Hypertension · 2026Pooled it
- Intelligent health management technology use and depressive symptoms among older adults: the serial mediating roles of physical activity and social adaptation.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- Navigating the Choice Between Wrist-Worn Research- and Consumer-Grade Wearables to Monitor Movement Behaviours: A Perspective.International journal of public health · 2026Article
- Feasibility and Acceptability of a Positive Psychological Intervention for Patients With Metastatic Breast Cancer: Pre-Post Pilot Study.JMIR formative research · 2025Article
- Consumer Health Informatics to Advance Precision Prevention.Yearbook of medical informatics · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Nudges are interventions promoting healthy behavior without forbidding options or substantial incentives; the Apple Watch, for example, encourages users to stand by delivering a notification if they have been sitting for the first 50 minutes of an hour. On the basis of 76 billion minutes of observational standing data from 160,000 subjects in the public Apple Heart and Movement Study, we estimate the causal effect of this notification using a regression discontinuity design for time series data with time-varying treatment. We show that the nudge increases the probability of standing by up to 43.9% and remains effective with time. The nudge's effectiveness increases with age and is independent of gender. Closing Apple Watch Activity Rings, a visualization of participants' daily progress in Move, Exercise, and Stand, further increases the nudge's impact. This work demonstrates the effectiveness of behavioral health interventions and introduces tools for investigating their causal effect from large-scale observations.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
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.