Dunn R, Tamminen KA, Kim J, Vanderloo LM. Promotion of physical activity among people who identify as women through the ParticipACTION mobile app.
Psychol Health 2023:1-20. [PMID:
37870144 DOI:
10.1080/08870446.2023.2269422]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
Health and fitness mobile applications can increase users' physical activity (PA) levels (Lister et al., 2014). ParticipACTION is a national non-profit organization that developed a mobile app to target PA among adults (Truelove et al., 2020). The aim of this research was to examine how women's PA is related to their use of the ParticipACTION app.
METHODS AND MEASUREMENT
Using a mixed-methods design, participants (n = 3,493) completed a survey regarding their PA levels, motivation for PA (capability, opportunity, motivation; COM-B, Keyworth et al., 2020), and motivation for using the ParticipACTION app. Nine focus groups were conducted (n = 37) to discuss the mobile app further.
RESULTS
Path analyses revealed that users' app use was positively associated with motivations for various app functions (e.g. self-monitoring, seeking exercise guidance), however, only motivation in-turn predicted PA. Descriptive results indicated that many women in Canada who used the app do not meet national guidelines for PA per week. Qualitative findings highlight women's motivation for using the app, concerns with app functionality, and feelings of guilt for not engaging in PA.
CONCLUSION
The ParticipACTION app may have some benefit for improving women's PA; intervention studies are needed to determine efficacy of mobile applications.
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