Exploring the Black Box of an mHealth Intervention (LIFE4YOUth): A Qualitative Process and Outcome Evaluation of End-User Engagement

Anna Seiterö (), Kristin Thomas, Marie Löf and Ulrika Müssener
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Anna Seiterö: Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Kristin Thomas: Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Marie Löf: Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden
Ulrika Müssener: Department of Health, Medicine and Caring Sciences, Linköping University, 581 83 Linköping, Sweden

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 21, 1-15

Abstract: The effectiveness of mHealth interventions rely on whether the content successfully activate mechanisms necessary for behavior change. These mechanisms may be affected by end-users’ experience of the intervention content. The aim of this study was to explore how the content of a novel mHealth intervention (LIFE4YOUth) was understood, interpreted, and applied by high school students, and the consequences of engaging with the content. Qualitative content analysis was used inductively and deductively to analyze interview data ( n = 16) based on think-aloud techniques with Swedish high school students aged 16–19 years. Theoretical constructs from social cognitive theory framed the deductive analysis. The analysis resulted in four categories which describe central activities of intervention engagement among end-users: defining, considering, centralizing, and personalizing. End-users engaged in these activities to different degrees as illustrated by four typologies: Literal, Vague, Rigid, and Creative engagement. Most informants knew about the risks and benefits of health behaviors, but engagement with intervention content generally increased informants’ awareness. In conclusion, this study provides in-depth knowledge on the cognitive process when engaging with mHealth content and suggests that deliberate and flexible engagement most likely deepens end-users’ understanding of why and how health behavior change can be managed.

Keywords: mHealth; mobile apps; behavior change; health interventions; user engagement; human–computer interaction; qualitative research; think-aloud (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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