Using a Smartphone Application to Promote Physical Activity Behavior Change Among Researchers From Human Movement Sciences: Qualitative Focus Group Study (Preprint)

Abstract

Physical inactivity is the fourth leading risk factor for mortality worldwide. Currently, we count on technologies’ vertiginous advances, mostly in smartphone applications (apps), which showed to be useful in the introduction or expansion of physical activity. However, little attention has been paid to understanding the viewpoint of researchers from human movement sciences.

To understand the perception of researchers from human movement sciences about using a smartphone app to promote physical activity behavior change.

Ten physically active researchers (8 men and 2 women, mean [SD] age 32.4 [5.21] years), users of the Pacer smartphone app participated in a focus group. The focus group lasted two hours and was mediated by the first author using guiding questions grouped into three categories: app features, barriers and facilitators to physical activity and challenges to behavior change. We performed a qualitative analysis, using the content analysis approach based on the audio records, using participants' verbal reports as a unit of analysis.

The focus group revealed that physical activity has always been present in the participants' lives. Participants identified changes in their patterns of physical activity over time, incorporating technologies during their exercise sessions. They realized that throughout life the goal in physical activity changed from improving performance to improving health. Participants' life history of physical activity was associated with their preference for the app that stimulated competitiveness. The possibility of competing and being rewarded by their achievements are essential motivational tools. In this way, participants appreciated the possibility of creating groups and ranking among them. As facilitators for physical activity, the group pointed to the adequate city infrastructure and the possibilities of exercising with someone and being challenged by colleagues. As barriers, participants listed a lack of safety and the need to take the smartphone for the app using.

Our study reporting challenges and possibilities to drive changes in physical activity behavior by using smartphone apps. The focus group provided important resources and characteristics that had a positive impact on the behavior change and should be considered, such as: the participants’ challenge of overcoming themselves, the opportunity to compete with their peers to achieve personal goals, and the possibility to measure the amount of physical activity. These finds can contribute to improving app development and user acceptability, especially regarding features based on behavior change techniques. Additionally, although this is a descriptive qualitative study with a limited sample, using a smartphone app seems to contribute to physical activity behavior change, even among participants with adequate levels of physical activity.