The application of behaviour change theory, delivered through mobile-app and wearable-based technology, proven to engage and improve the health & wellbeing of populations. A case study

• Main Author: Ronan Carter
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2015-09-01
• Series: Frontiers in Public Health
• Subjects: engagement; Quantified Self; wearable; Health and Wellbeing; Digital Health
• Online Access: http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/conf.FPUBH.2016.01.00030/full

BACKGROUND Yomp’s aims are simple – get more people active, more often. Especially those sedentary or ‘high risk’. Yomp do this through community engagement and behavioural change techniques applied through ‘gamification’ via our award-winning technology (online platform, app and integration into wearable devices). A London-based technology company now working globally, Yomp has been developing behaviour change programs for almost five years, initially in cycling and now across all forms of activity. Yomp currently supplies its behaviour change programs to over 35 organisations and has changed the behaviours of thousands of participants. Yomp has partaken in studies and received advice on design of their approach to change behaviours through the Judge Business School (University of Cambridge) Cambridge Experimental Behavioural Economics Group and also Columbia Business School Behavioural Science teams. DESCRIPTION Yomp’s platform promotes behavioural change through a joint goal and leaderboard-based participation challenge as the most effective way to engage with an audience. This is a combination of extrinsic and extrinsic motivators. We do this through designing a ‘gamification’ platform allowing users to: • Log activities through our app, online or through wearables. • Set personal and team goals • Attain virtual badges & social recognition • Experience fun or something new • Feel better about a healthier and what they have achieved (leaderboards etc) All the implementation, design and marketing materials Yomp implements uses the following behaviour change theories and techniques to incentivise change: • Raising awareness & promoting benefits • Social marketing with targeted information • Gamification delivered through technology • Self-efficacy and self-perception • Social learning The case study – the paper will be presented (orally, preferably) through a client providing a case study of their experience with Yomp from having used us the previous three years. Yomp staff will not present. In our experience this carries far greater credibility with the audience. CONCLUSIONS Both quantified and qualified data shall be presented showing activity behaviour change across various cohorts using different versions of the same system and ‘control’ cohorts. Results from the case study will be shown as well as aggregate totals across all clients. A snapshot of qualified aggregated totals is shown below. In summary, the evidence shows that implementation of the Yomp system successfully leads to activity behaviour change both during the challenge period and for six months following the last challenge.