Colloquia

Summary

Almost half of the Dutch adults are not physically active enough. Especially adults with a low socioeconomic position, low health literacy, and ethnic minority groups have a higher risk of poor health. Although interventions to stimulate physical activity have become increasingly popular, they don’t focus on this disadvantaged target group particularly. This thesis, as part of the research program ‘Perfect Fit’, tried to determine possibilities for a mobile phone application that is able to facilitate change in physical activity behavior, based on an identity approach. In order to determine these possibilities, the following main research question was composed: How to change physical activity behavior among disadvantaged groups by implementing identity theory in a mobile phone application?

To answer the main research question, different research methods were used. First, literature research was done, to gain more knowledge about theories about physical activity behavior among disadvantaged groups, behavior change, identity, and features in current behavior-changing interventions. 

All gained knowledge of the literature research has been used as input for the next steps of the design process. The next research method used was a focus group. This focus group was focused on examining the possibilities of joining the feared and ideal future selves with the concept of visualizing these future selves. 

The concepts, as a result of the first focus group, were taken to the next step: the second focus group. This focus group was focused on discussing the designed concepts of the future selves exercises, the different ways of visualizing the future selves and the use of an avatar to show progress of behavior change. 

Next to the second focus group, an online survey was conducted. The survey contained questions about possible app features, such as goal setting, social support or options for receiving physical activity knowledge. 

On the basis of the input of the above mentioned research methods, a final design was made, in the form of a prototype, which acts as a design advice for the Perfect Fit research project. Possible follow-up research could focus on letting the target group test the prototype for a few months to see whether the concept of the future selves and the other app features are effective to change their physical activity behavior.