An architecture for active living technology adoption

The current age of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has heralded a technological revolution and rapid advances in digital devices and applications. Health ICT (HICT) refers to the adoption of technology within the healthcare context. The enormous advances in technology have the potential to substantially improve people’s well-being. However, research in the field of active living has pointed to technology contributing to opportunities for sedentary activities and decreasing levels of physical activity, especially when people under- or over-estimate their physical behaviour. ‘Active living’ refers to a way of life that integrates physical activity into daily routines and adding ‘technology’ to this term conceptualises a technology that can improve individuals’ active behaviour. Physical activity self-monitoring technology is a popular example of such technology. Research in the integrated fields of ICT and self-monitoring technology has developed a variety of innovations to motivate and encourage health and active living. However, there is a clear issue in the literature regarding the short-term adoption of active living technologies. Increasing motivation to use these behavioural tools is essential to improve health outcomes. This thesis illustrates work that has been undertaken to contribute to active living technology adoption. This study has integrated technologies and behavioural change strategies into a framework called the Active Living Technology Architecture (ALTA). This framework focuses on facilitating individuals’ self-monitoring of physical activity and screen time in order to increase their physical activity awareness and their motivation to use monitoring applications. The evaluation of an implementable application of this framework—MYSTEPS—examined users’ uptake of the framework in terms of facilitating self-monitoring of physical activity behaviour and showed a positive attitude toward its adoption. Furthermore, this study found that MYSTEPS was effective in influencing users’ awareness of their physical activity. While participants in this research were significantly motivated to put on the monitors, the specific implementation of a game as a reward showed no effect on motivation to use the technology. However, the use of other gamification, such as Leaderboards, showed potential for increasing motivation. As such, facilitating customisation of future implementations of active living technology applications suggests a potential for the adoption of these technologies.