Personalization of Intervention Timing for Physical Activity: Scoping Review

Abstract

Background The use of sensors in smartphones, smartwatches, and wearable devices has facilitated the personalization of interventions to increase users’ physical activity (PA). Recent research has focused on evaluating the effects of personalized interventions in improving PA among users. However, it is critical to deliver the intervention at an appropriate time to each user to increase the likelihood of adoption of the intervention. Earlier review studies have not focused on the personalization of intervention timing for increasing PA. Objective This review aims to examine studies of information technology–based PA interventions with personalized intervention timing (PIT); identify inputs (eg, user location) used by the system for generating the PIT, the techniques and methods used for generating the PIT, the content of the PA intervention, and delivery mode of the intervention; and identify gaps in existing literature and suggest future research directions. Methods A scoping review was undertaken using PsycINFO, PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases based on a structured search query. The main inclusion criteria were as follows: the study aimed to promote PA, included some form of PIT, and used some form of information technology for delivery of the intervention to the user. If deemed relevant, articles were included in this review after removing duplicates and examining the title, abstract, and full text of the shortlisted articles. Results The literature search resulted in 18 eligible studies. In this review, 72% (13/18) of the studies focused on increasing PA as the primary objective, whereas it was the secondary focus in the remaining studies. The inputs used to generate the PIT were categorized as user preference, activity level, schedule, location, and predicted patterns. On the basis of the intervention technique, studies were classified as manual, semiautomated, or automated. Of these, the automated interventions were either knowledge based (based on rules or guidelines) or data driven. Of the 18 studies, only 6 (33%) evaluated the effectiveness of the intervention and reported positive outcomes. Conclusions This work reviewed studies on PIT for PA interventions and identified several aspects of the interventions, that is, inputs, techniques, contents, and delivery mode. The reviewed studies evaluated PIT in conjunction with other personalization approaches such as activity recommendation, with no study evaluating the effectiveness of PIT alone. On the basis of the findings, several important directions for future research are also highlighted in this review.

Understanding the relationship between acceptance of multifunctional health and fitness features of wrist-worn wearables and actual usage

“…It was also found that these three constructs merge into a single construct, rather than acting independently. This finding suggests that knowledge acquisition is one of the contributing factors to evaluating user acceptance (Chaudhari et al. , 2022; Hoehle and Venkatesh, 2015; Lynch et al.…”

“…It was also found that these three constructs merge into a single construct, rather than acting independently. This finding suggests that knowledge acquisition is one of the contributing factors to evaluating user acceptance (Chaudhari et al, 2022;Hoehle and Venkatesh, 2015;Lynch et al, 2019;Mayer, 2002). When assessing the acceptance of a specific function of WWD, knowledge, usefulness and ease of use are interconnected within a single psychometric property.…”

“…The findings on the multidimensional features of WWD are as important as treating a device in terms of motivating users to be more physically active (Chaudhari et al, 2022;Kim et al, 2022;Lynch et al, 2019;Lyons et al, 2014), especially in the digitalized interactive environment of WWD and provide realistic solutions for WWD manufacturers or market practitioners from a practical perspective. These findings can help organizations improve the health promotion experience of their customers by providing them with a primary rationale for creating more awareness and enhancing the continuous use of WWD, especially targeting users who are physically active.…”

“…The greater the number of health tracking functions added to WWD-such as user-friendly interfaces and digitalized interactive platforms on mobile phones-the broader the usage scope (Brickwood et al, 2019;Evenson et al, 2015;Lyons et al, 2014). Thus, the use of WWD has expanded from simply tracking physical activity metrics to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and potentially preventing disease (Chaudhari et al, 2022;Kim et al, 2022;Kononova et al, 2019). As WWD have gained worldwide popularity, upgraded versions have continuously been released (Lynch et al, 2019).…”

“…, 2014). Thus, the use of WWD has expanded from simply tracking physical activity metrics to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and potentially preventing disease (Chaudhari et al. , 2022; Kim et al.…”