SE  Factors  &  Use  Mo/va/ons    

Nine  SE  Factors                                      

Seven  Use  Mo/va/ons                              

*Did  not  use  in  analyses  because  there  was  only  one  measure  

   

Mo/va/ons  for  Mobile  Health  Apps:  The  Rela/onship  between  Self-­‐Efficacy  &  Use    Elizabeth  V.  Eikey,  BS  and  Erika  Poole,  PhD  

College  of  InformaBon  Sciences  and  Technology,  Pennsylvania  State  University,  University  Park,  PA  

Background  &  Methods  One  key  factor  to  successful  health  behavior  change  is  self-­‐efficacy  (SE)  [5],  a  person’s  belief  in  his/her  ability  to    accomplish  a  task  [1].  While  self-­‐efficacy  has  been  studied  in  the  health  context  [5]  and  fitness  app  design  [2],  we    have  a  limited  understanding  of  how  self-­‐efficacy  impacts  mobile  health  app  use.        RQ:  What  is  the  rela.onship  between  users’  self-­‐efficacy  and  their  mo.va.ons  for  using  mobile  health  apps?    Survey  Design  •  Used  and  adapted  measures  from  the  EaBng  Habits  Confidence  Survey  [3],  the  SE  for  EaBng  Behaviors  Scale  [4],  and  the  SE  for  Exercise  Behaviors  Scale  [4]  •  Developed  similar  measures  for  weight-­‐related  self-­‐efficacy;  i.e.  “I  can  achieve  my  weight-­‐related  goals.”  •  Used  7-­‐point  Likert-­‐like  scale  

Par/cipants  &  Recruitment  •  Used  Amazon  Mechanical  Turk  •  Recruited  303  parBcipants;  181  used  in  analysis  •  Criteria:  U.S.  residents;  18  years  or  older;  had  used  mobile  health  app(s)    

Discussion  &  Future  Work  Take  Away  Points  •  We   found   posiBve   correlaBons   between  

numerous   types   of   SE   and   use   moBvaBons,  suggesBng   that   the   design   and   features   of  mobile  health  apps  may   influence  users’  beliefs  in  their  abiliBes.  

•  We   can   develop   a   more   personalized   app  experience   by   focusing   on   aspects   that   best  promote  specific  types  of  SE  for  certain  types  of  users  and  their  goals.    

•  Therefore,  we  may  be   able   to  help  users  make  long-­‐term  lifestyle  changes.  

Future  work    • Run   experiment   to   test   design   elements   and  measure  SE  •  Link   to   actual   behavior   change   and   health  outcomes  • Consider  other  concepts  besides  SE      

 

1%  

27.3%  

51.4%  

8.2%   7.7%   4.4%  

0  10  20  30  40  50  60  70  80  90  100  

Under  18   18-­‐24   25-­‐34   35-­‐44   45-­‐54   55+  

Age    

Under  18  

18-­‐24  

25-­‐34  

35-­‐44  

45-­‐54  

55+  

66.7%  

33.3%  

0  

20  

40  

60  

80  

100  

Female   Male  

Gender  

Female  

Male  

Factor   Measures  

Exercise  General  SE   SBck  to  my  exercise  program  even  when  I  have  excessive  demands  at  work  or  school  SBck  to  my  exercise  program  when  my  family/friends  is/are  demanding  more  Bme  from  me  SBck  to  your  exercise  program  when  social  obligaBons  are  very  Bme  consuming  SBck  to  my  exercise  program  aker  a  long,  Bring  day  at  work  or  school  SBck  to  my  exercise  program  when  I  have  household  chores  to  alend  to  SBck  to  my  exercise  program  when  undergoing  a  stressful  life  change  Consider  my  exercise  habits  healthy  I  can  maintain  a  healthy  exercise  rouBne  Set  aside  Bme  for  a  physical  acBvity  program  for  at  least  30  minutes,  3  Bmes  per  week  Exercise  even  though  I  am  feeling  depressed  ConBnue  to  exercise  with  others  even  though  they  seem  too  fast  or  too  slow  for  me  

Exercise  for  Health  SE   I  can  be  healthier  by  exercising  more  I  can  burn  excess  calories  by  exercising  

Healthy  ConsumpBon  &  Diet  General  SE   I  can  reach  my  nutriBon-­‐related  goals  I  can  choose  foods  based  on  nutriBon  I  can  sBck  to  my  daily  alloled  calorie  budget  

Healthy  Food  SelecBon  Non-­‐SituaBonal  SE   Choose  low  or  non-­‐fat  milk  instead  of  whole  milk  Eat  smaller  porBons  at  dinner  Cut  down  on  gravies  and  cream  sauces  

Healthy  Food  SelecBon  SituaBon  SE   SBck  to  low  fat,  low  salt  when  there  is  high  fat,  high  salt  food  readily  available  at  a  party  SBck  to  healthy  foods  when  I  feel  tense  SBck  to  healthy  foods  when  eaBng  with  friends  or  co-­‐workers  SBck  to  healthy  foods  when  I  feel  bored  SBck  to  healthy  foods  when  I  feel  depressed  

Change  EaBng  Habits  SE   I  cannot  reduce  the  amount  of  junkfood  I  eat  (reverse  code)  Eat  lunch  as  your  main  meal  of  the  day  rather  than  dinner  

Achieve  Healthy  Weight  through  Diet  SE   I  can  reach  a  healthy  weight  by  tracking  calories  I  can  reach  a  healthy  weight  by  eaBng  healthier  foods  

Achieve  Weight  Goals  SE   If  I  want  to  lose  weight,  I  can  do  so  easily  I  can  achieve  my  weight-­‐related  goals  I  cannot  achieve  my  weight-­‐related  goals  (reverse  code)  

Long-­‐term  Diet  and  Exercise  SE   I  cannot  maintain  a  healthy  diet  for  more  than  6  months  (reverse  code)  I  cannot  maintain  a  healthy  exercise  rouBne  for  more  than  6  months  (reverse  code)  

Conclusions  

Since   SE   is   so   important   for   users   to   persist   in  efforts   to   exercise,   eat   healthier,   and   lose  weight,   it   is   important   to   understand   the   link  between  SE  and  use  moBvaBons.  This  study  is  a  good   first   step   at   understanding   this  relaBonship.    

Limita/ons  • Cannot  determine  from  this  study  if  SE  impacts  use  or  use  impacts  SE  • Number  of  parBcipants  removed  from  analysis    

         

                       

   

 

Factor   Measures  Social  ConnecBon   To  seek  support  from  others  

Because  I  can  compare  myself  with  others    Because  I  can  compare  my  exercise  habits  with  others’  Because  it  allows  me  to  connect  to  other  people  To  give  support  to  others  To  compete  with  others  Because  I  can  compare  my  diet  and  food  habits  with  others’  To  meet  people/make  friends  To  find  someone  to  hold  me  accountable  

ConsumpBon  Consciousness   To  find  out  the  calorie  content  of  specific  foods  To  measure  my  calorie  intake  To  create  a  personalized  database  of  my  foods  To  help  me  porBon  out  my  meals  To  track  my  nutriBon-­‐related  goals,  such  as  fats,  carbohydrates,  sodium,  protein,  etc.  

Exercise  Consciousness   To  log  my  exercises  To  track  the  amount  of  Bme  I  exercise  To  track  calories  burned  from  exercise  To  create  a  personalized  database  of  my  exercises  

Surveillance   To  measure  my  Body  Mass  Index  (BMI)  To  log  my  body  fat  percentage  

Empowerment   It  moBvates  me  to  be  healthier  It  gives  me  control  It  allows  me  to  make  educated  decisions  about  my  health  

FuncBonality   The  app  is  easy  to  use  Entering  informaBon  is  quick  The  app  is  difficult  to  use  (reverse  code)  

AestheBcs*   It  includes  graphs,  photos,  and  other  visuals  

Results  –  Posi/ve  Correla/ons  (p  <  .05)      

 Exercise  General  SE  

Social  ConnecBon  

ConsumpBon  Consciousness  

Exercise  Consciousness  

Surveillance  

Exercise  for  Health  SE  

Empowerment  

FuncBonality  

Healthy  ConsumpBon  &  Diet  General  SE  

Healthy  Food  SelecBon  Non-­‐SituaBonal  SE  

Healthy  Food  SelecBon  SituaBon  SE  

Change  EaBng  Habits  SE  

Long-­‐term  Diet  and  Exercise  SE  

Achieve  Weight  Goals  SE  

Achieve  Healthy  Weight  through  Diet  SE  

Acknowledgements  We  would   like   to   thank  Siobhan  McGroarty  and  Elizabeth  Brennan  for   their  work  on  the  preliminary,  exploratory  study,  which  helped  us  beler  develop  the  survey  for  this  study.  This  material  is  based  upon  work   supported   by   the   NaBonal   Science   FoundaBon   under   Grant   No.   DGE1255832.   Any   opinions,  findings,  and  conclusions  or  recommendaBons  expressed  in  this  material  are  those  of  the  author(s)  and  do  not  necessarily  reflect  the  views  of  the  NaBonal  Science  FoundaBon.    

         

                       

   

 

References  [1]  Bandura,  A.  1977.  Self-­‐efficacy:  toward  a  unifying  theory  of  behavioral  change.  Psychological  Review,  84(2),  191.  [2]  Choe,  E.K.  et  al.  2013.  Persuasive  performance  feedback:  The  effect  of  framing  on  self-­‐efficacy.  AMIA  (Washington,  D.C.,  2013),  1–9.  [3]  Sallis,  J.  1996.  EaBng  habits  confidence  survey.  Retrieved  from  hlp://sallis.ucsd.edu/Documents/Measures_documents/Selfefficacy_diet.pdf  [4]  Sallis,  J.F.  et  al.  1988.  The  development  of  self-­‐efficacy  scales  for  health-­‐related  diet  and  exercise  behaviors.  Health  EducaBon  Research,  3,  283-­‐292.  [5]  Strecher,  V.J.  et  al.  1986.  The  role  of  self-­‐efficacy  in  achieving  behavior  change  health.  Health  Educa:on  Quarterly,  13(1),  73–92.