Effects of gamification-based intervention for promoting health behaviors

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to examine the effectiveness of the gamification-based intervention on health behavior change. Participants were 53 Japanese undergraduate and graduate students, of whom 30 were allocated to the intervention group and 23 were allocated to the control group. In the intervention group, daily physical activity and dietary behavior were assessed using a mobile phone application called The Way of Health. The application includes various functions, such as recording daily steps and checking the accomplishment of health behavior challenges. The program was conducted for 100 days from May 2016 to August 2016. ANOVA results for daily steps per week revealed a significant increase in daily steps only in the intervention group. Similarly, concerning the results of ANOVA for the diet behavior score, the intervention group was shown to be significantly higher than the control group along with time. Descriptive statistics revealed that 92.8%, 89.3%, and 82.1% of participants “agreed” or “somewhat agreed” that the points, badges, and leaderboards, respectively, were useful. This study indicated the possibility that gamification could work well for promoting healthy behaviors. Elements of gamification might be recognized as a facilitating factor for participant engagement in an intervention for health behavior change.

Keywords

• ehealth
• information and communication technology
• behavior change
• smart phone
• mobile phone