Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study
Abstract Background Changing lifestyle patterns over the last decades have seen growing numbers of people in Asia affected by non-communicable diseases and common mental health disorders, including diabetes, cancer, and/or depression. Interventions targeting healthy lifestyle behaviours through mobi...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2023-04-01
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| Series: | BMC Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15598-8 |
| _version_ | 1797827305234497536 |
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| author | Jacqueline Louise Mair Oscar Castro Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria Bea Franziska Frese Florian von Wangenheim E Shyong Tai Tobias Kowatsch Falk Müller-Riemenschneider |
| author_facet | Jacqueline Louise Mair Oscar Castro Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria Bea Franziska Frese Florian von Wangenheim E Shyong Tai Tobias Kowatsch Falk Müller-Riemenschneider |
| author_sort | Jacqueline Louise Mair |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Changing lifestyle patterns over the last decades have seen growing numbers of people in Asia affected by non-communicable diseases and common mental health disorders, including diabetes, cancer, and/or depression. Interventions targeting healthy lifestyle behaviours through mobile technologies, including new approaches such as chatbots, may be an effective, low-cost approach to prevent these conditions. To ensure uptake and engagement with mobile health interventions, however, it is essential to understand the end-users’ perspectives on using such interventions. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions, barriers, and facilitators to the use of mobile health interventions for lifestyle behaviour change in Singapore. Methods Six virtual focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 34 participants (mean ± SD; aged 45 ± 3.6 years; 64.7% females). Focus group recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach, followed by deductive mapping according to perceptions, barriers, facilitators, mixed factors, or strategies. Results Five themes were identified: (i) holistic wellbeing is central to healthy living (i.e., the importance of both physical and mental health); (ii) encouraging uptake of a mobile health intervention is influenced by factors such as incentives and government backing; (iii) trying out a mobile health intervention is one thing, sticking to it long term is another and there are key factors, such as personalisation and ease of use that influence sustained engagement with mobile health interventions; (iv) perceptions of chatbots as a tool to support healthy lifestyle behaviour are influenced by previous negative experiences with chatbots, which might hamper uptake; and (v) sharing health-related data is OK, but with conditions such as clarity on who will have access to the data, how it will be stored, and for what purpose it will be used. Conclusions Findings highlight several factors that are relevant for the development and implementation of mobile health interventions in Singapore and other Asian countries. Recommendations include: (i) targeting holistic wellbeing, (ii) tailoring content to address environment-specific barriers, (iii) partnering with government and/or local (non-profit) institutions in the development and/or promotion of mobile health interventions, (iv) managing expectations regarding the use of incentives, and (iv) identifying potential alternatives or complementary approaches to the use of chatbots, particularly for mental health. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:46:36Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c82358476ae44ae8b9e84381d66a5fc6 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1471-2458 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-09T12:46:36Z |
| publishDate | 2023-04-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Public Health |
| spelling | doaj.art-c82358476ae44ae8b9e84381d66a5fc62023-05-14T11:30:38ZengBMCBMC Public Health1471-24582023-04-0123112310.1186/s12889-023-15598-8Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative studyJacqueline Louise Mair0Oscar Castro1Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria2Bea Franziska Frese3Florian von Wangenheim4E Shyong Tai5Tobias Kowatsch6Falk Müller-Riemenschneider7Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Future Health Technologies, Singapore-ETH Centre, Campus for Research Excellence And Technological Enterprise (CREATE)Abstract Background Changing lifestyle patterns over the last decades have seen growing numbers of people in Asia affected by non-communicable diseases and common mental health disorders, including diabetes, cancer, and/or depression. Interventions targeting healthy lifestyle behaviours through mobile technologies, including new approaches such as chatbots, may be an effective, low-cost approach to prevent these conditions. To ensure uptake and engagement with mobile health interventions, however, it is essential to understand the end-users’ perspectives on using such interventions. The aim of this study was to explore perceptions, barriers, and facilitators to the use of mobile health interventions for lifestyle behaviour change in Singapore. Methods Six virtual focus group discussions were conducted with a total of 34 participants (mean ± SD; aged 45 ± 3.6 years; 64.7% females). Focus group recordings were transcribed verbatim and analysed using an inductive thematic analysis approach, followed by deductive mapping according to perceptions, barriers, facilitators, mixed factors, or strategies. Results Five themes were identified: (i) holistic wellbeing is central to healthy living (i.e., the importance of both physical and mental health); (ii) encouraging uptake of a mobile health intervention is influenced by factors such as incentives and government backing; (iii) trying out a mobile health intervention is one thing, sticking to it long term is another and there are key factors, such as personalisation and ease of use that influence sustained engagement with mobile health interventions; (iv) perceptions of chatbots as a tool to support healthy lifestyle behaviour are influenced by previous negative experiences with chatbots, which might hamper uptake; and (v) sharing health-related data is OK, but with conditions such as clarity on who will have access to the data, how it will be stored, and for what purpose it will be used. Conclusions Findings highlight several factors that are relevant for the development and implementation of mobile health interventions in Singapore and other Asian countries. Recommendations include: (i) targeting holistic wellbeing, (ii) tailoring content to address environment-specific barriers, (iii) partnering with government and/or local (non-profit) institutions in the development and/or promotion of mobile health interventions, (iv) managing expectations regarding the use of incentives, and (iv) identifying potential alternatives or complementary approaches to the use of chatbots, particularly for mental health.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15598-8Digital healthMhealthFocus groupsHealth behaviour changeConversational agentsChatbots |
| spellingShingle | Jacqueline Louise Mair Oscar Castro Alicia Salamanca-Sanabria Bea Franziska Frese Florian von Wangenheim E Shyong Tai Tobias Kowatsch Falk Müller-Riemenschneider Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study BMC Public Health Digital health Mhealth Focus groups Health behaviour change Conversational agents Chatbots |
| title | Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study |
| title_full | Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study |
| title_fullStr | Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study |
| title_short | Exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non-communicable diseases in Asian populations: a qualitative study |
| title_sort | exploring the potential of mobile health interventions to address behavioural risk factors for the prevention of non communicable diseases in asian populations a qualitative study |
| topic | Digital health Mhealth Focus groups Health behaviour change Conversational agents Chatbots |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-023-15598-8 |
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