A framework for guiding the interdisciplinary design of mHealth intervention apps for physical activity behaviour change

Thomson, Callie Deborah

Title: A framework for guiding the interdisciplinary design of mHealth intervention apps for physical activity behaviour change
Creator: Thomson, Callie Deborah
ThesisAdvisor: Khene, Caroline
Subject: Wireless communication systems in medical care
Subject: Exercise Health aspects
Subject: Behavior modification
Subject: Mobile apps
Subject: Medical care Technological innovations
Subject: Medical informatics
Subject: Health promotion Technological innovations
Subject: Application software Development
Subject: Design Science Research‎ (DSR)
Date: 2022-04-06
Type: Doctoral theses
Type: text
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/232193
Identifier: vital:49970
Identifier: DOI http://doi.org/10.21504/10962/232193
Description: The global pandemic of noncommunicable diseases and its associated premature mortality rates and socioeconomic burden have led to increasingly intensified efforts towards designing and delivering health promotion interventions aimed at addressing the leading modifiable health risk behaviours, such as physical inactivity. Developing physical activity behaviour change interventions that target individuals at the dual intra-interpersonal socioecological levels of health promotion has become a key objective worldwide. Digital and mobile technology is revolutionising the ways in which health behaviour change interventions are delivered to individuals across the world, with mobile health applications (mHealth apps) increasingly recognised as a powerful means of promoting physical activity behaviour change. However, with the growth and opportunities of mHealth apps, come several design challenges. Key design challenges concern the integration of theory, the incorporation of evidence-based behaviour change techniques, the application of persuasive systems design principles, and the importance of multi- and interdisciplinary collaborative design, development and evaluation approaches. These key challenges influence the output product design and effectiveness of mHealth physical activity behaviour change intervention apps. There exists a paucity of approaches for guiding and supporting the multi- and interdisciplinary collaborative design, development and evaluation of mHealth physical activity behaviour change intervention apps. To address this gap, this research study proposes an Interdisciplinary mHealth App Design Framework, framed by a novel boundary object view. This view considers the diverse communities of practice, boundary objects and supporting artefacts, process activities, and knowledge sharing practices necessary and relevant to the design of effective mHealth physical activity behaviour change intervention apps. The framework’s development is guided by a Design Science Research (DSR) approach. Its core components are based on the findings of a critical theoretical analysis of twenty existing multi- and interdisciplinary digital health development approaches. Once developed, the framework is evaluated using a qualitative DSR linguistic interpretivist approach, with semi-structured interviews as the research instrument. The thematic analysis findings from interviews with thirty-one international academic researchers and industry practitioners informs the iterative modification and revision of an enhanced Interdisciplinary mHealth App Design Framework, constituting the main DSR artefact contribution of the research study. In addition, four theoretical contributions are made to the mHealth intervention app design body of knowledge, and a practical contribution is made through the provision of guideline recommendations for academics and industry practitioners. Methodological contributions are also made in terms of applying DSR, adopting a hybrid cognitive reasoning strategy, and employing a qualitative linguistic interpretivist approach to evaluation within a DSR project.
Description: Thesis (PhD) -- Faculty of Commerce, Information Systems, 2022
Format: computer, online resource, application/pdf, 1 online resource (1219 pages), pdf
Publisher: Rhodes University, Faculty of Commerce, Information Systems
Language: English
Rights: Thomson, Callie Deborah
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons "Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike" License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/)

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