Accepted for/Published in: JMIR Public Health and Surveillance
Date Submitted: Jan 31, 2019
Open Peer Review Period: Feb 1, 2019 - Feb 15, 2019
Date Accepted: Sep 6, 2019
(closed for review but you can still tweet)
Perceptions and experiences of women participating in a digital technology-based physical activity intervention trial: A qualitative investigation of the mPED trial
ABSTRACT
Background:
Regular physical activity is associated with reduced risk of chronic illnesses, such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension and some cancers but few women reach the recommended levels of physical activity. Digital technologies have been useful in increasing physical activity during the course of an interventional study but sustaining that activity once the clinical trial was complete has been challenging. The purpose of this paper is to qualitatively explore factors impacting maintaining engagement in physical activity in physical activity among women participated in the mobile phone based physical activity education (mPED) randomized controlled trial (RCT) that successfully demonstrated the efficacy of the mobile app and accelerometer based intervention in increasing physical activity over the course of nine months.
Objective:
The aim of this paper is to explore factors impacting maintaining engagement in physical activity after the 9-month intervention.
Methods:
In this qualitative approach study, 203 out of 210 women who were enrolled in the mPED trial completed a twelve-month open-ended exit interview by phone. The participants were asked what they learned from, liked and would change about the trial, motivations to keep active post trial and advice for other women using open-ended questions. Interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. The average length of the interviews was 18 minutes (SD ± 6).
Results:
Physically inactive women’s experiences of maintenance of physical activity over time are embedded in a complex interplay of internal and external factors. Three interactive themes emerged as critical in both supporting motivation to be active and sustaining physical activity post study: Tracking/self-awareness, accountability and technology versus personal touch. Technology allowed for self-tracking which supported internal accountability but tracking by another person (personal touch) was needed for external accountability. Environment/resources underpinned the relationship among the three interactive themes, motivation and sustainability.
Conclusions:
Digital technology is evolving at an exponential rate and provides new opportunities to transform research to support maintenance of physical activity. Future research is needed to identify the best ways to harness this dynamic process in promoting and sustaining physical activity among inactive women. Clinical Trial: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT01280812
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Copyright
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