Effectiveness of an 8-Week Physical Activity Intervention Involving Wearable Activity Trackers and an eHealth App: Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Background: Health-promotion interventions incorporating wearable technology or eHealth apps can encourage participants to self-monitor and modify their physical activity and sedentary behavior. In 2020, a Calgary (Alberta, Canada) recreational facility developed and implemented a health-promotion intervention (Vivo Play Scientist program) that provided a commercially available wearable activity tracker and a customized eHealth dashboard to participants free of cost. Objective: The aim of this study was to independently evaluate the effectiveness of the Vivo Play Scientist program for modifying physical activity and sedentary behavior during the initial 8 weeks of the piloted intervention. Methods: Our concurrent mixed methods study included a single-arm repeated-measures quasiexperiment and semistructured interviews. Among the 318 eligible participants (≥18 years of age) registered for the program, 87 completed three self-administered online surveys (baseline, T0; 4 weeks, T1; and 8 weeks, T2). The survey captured physical activity, sedentary behavior, use of wearable technology and eHealth apps, and sociodemographic characteristics. Twenty-three participants were recruited using maximal-variation sampling and completed telephone-administered semistructured interviews regarding their program experiences. Self-reported physical activity and sedentary behavior outcomes were statistically compared among the three time points using Friedman tests. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. Results: The mean age of participants was 39.8 (SD 7.4) years and 75% (65/87) were women. Approximately half of all participants had previously used wearable technology (40/87, 46%) or an eHealth app (43/87, 49%) prior to the intervention. On average, participants reported wearing the activity tracker (Garmin Vivofit4) for 6.4 (SD 1.7) days in the past week at T1and for 6.0 (SD 2.2) days in the past week at T2. On average, participants reported using the dashboard for 1.6 (SD 2.1) days in the past week at T1and for 1.0 (SD 1.8) day in the past week at T2. The mean time spent walking at 8 weeks was significantly higher compared with that at baseline (T0180.34 vs T2253.79 minutes/week, P=.005), with no significant differences for other physical activity outcomes. Compared to that at baseline, the mean time spent sitting was significantly lower at 4 weeks (T0334.26 vs T1260.46 minutes/day, P