eprintid: 10083743
rev_number: 17
eprint_status: archive
userid: 608
dir: disk0/10/08/37/43
datestamp: 2019-10-22 09:54:49
lastmod: 2021-12-20 00:54:56
status_changed: 2019-10-22 09:54:49
type: article
metadata_visibility: show
creators_name: Baretta, D
creators_name: Bondaronek, P
creators_name: Direito, A
creators_name: Steca, P
title: Implementation of the goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps: Review and content analysis
ispublished: pub
divisions: UCL
divisions: B02
divisions: C07
divisions: D12
keywords: Content analysis, digital health, goal setting theory, goal-setting components, mHealth, mobile apps, physical activity, review
note: Creative Commons CC BY: This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).
abstract: Objective: Goal setting is an effective strategy to promote physical activity. Commercial apps that tackle physical activity often include goal setting; however, it is unknown whether the implementation of the goal-setting components is congruent with the theory. This study evaluated the quality of goal setting in popular free and paid physical activity apps by assessing the presence of effective goal-setting components. Methods: A six-item scale was developed based on the goal-setting literature and used for coding each app for the presence/absence of goal-setting components (i.e. specificity, difficulty, action planning, timeframe, goal evaluation and goal re-evaluation). Cohen's Kappa was used to evaluate inter-rater reliability for each scale item. The number of goal-setting components included in the 40 apps was calculated and the difference between free and paid apps was assessed. Results: All scale items achieved satisfactory inter-rater reliability except 'goal evaluation'. The most frequently included goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps were 'goal specificity' (95% of the apps) and 'goal timeframe' (67.5%). Conversely, only 47.5% and 25% of the apps implemented 'action planning' and 'goal difficulty', respectively, and none included 'goal re-evaluation'. No differences emerged between free and paid apps. Conclusions: The quality of the goal-setting strategy in popular physical activity apps could be improved by introducing components scarcely implemented to date. In particular, tailoring the goal difficulty to the users' ability level and re-evaluating the goals based on achievements should be implemented to increase the quality of goal setting.
date: 2019-01-01
date_type: published
official_url: https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207619862706
oa_status: green
full_text_type: pub
pmcid: PMC6637833
language: eng
primo: open
primo_central: open_green
verified: verified_manual
elements_id: 1681384
doi: 10.1177/2055207619862706
pii: 10.1177_2055207619862706
lyricists_name: Bondaronek, Paulina
lyricists_name: Direito, Artur
lyricists_id: PBOND33
lyricists_id: ADIRE89
actors_name: Bondaronek, Paulina
actors_id: PBOND33
actors_role: owner
full_text_status: public
publication: Digital Health
volume: 5
number: 1-10
event_location: United States
issn: 2055-2076
citation:        Baretta, D;    Bondaronek, P;    Direito, A;    Steca, P;      (2019)    Implementation of the goal-setting components in popular physical activity apps: Review and content analysis.                   Digital Health , 5  (1-10)      10.1177/2055207619862706 <https://doi.org/10.1177/2055207619862706>.       Green open access   
 
document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10083743/1/Implementation%20of%20the%20goal-setting%20components%20in%20popular%20physical%20activity%20apps%20Review%20and%20content%20analysis.pdf