Gamification to Motivate the Unmotivated Smoker: The "Take a Break" Digital Health Intervention
Authors
Blok, Amanda C.Sadasivam, Rajani S.
Amante, Daniel J.
Kamberi, Ariana
Flahive, Julie
Morley, Jeanne
Conigliaro, Joseph
Houston, Thomas K.
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Population and Quantitative Health SciencesDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2019-08-01Keywords
UMCCTS fundingDigital technology
Game design theory
Motivational intervention
Tobacco cessation
Usability and feasibility testing
eHealth
Behavioral Medicine
Health Psychology
Preventive Medicine
Psychiatry and Psychology
Substance Abuse and Addiction
Telemedicine
Translational Medical Research
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
Objective: Digital health technologies most often reach only those more motivated to engage, particularly when preventive health is targeted. To test whether gamification could be used to engage low-motivation smokers, we conceptualized "Take a Break"-a 3-week technology-assisted challenge for smokers to compete in setting and achieving brief abstinence goals. Materials and Methods: In the feasibility study of the multi-technology Take a Break challenge, low-motivation smokers were given (1) daily motivational messages, (2) brief "challenge quizzes" related to smoking behaviors, (3) a telehealth call to personalize their abstinence goal for the challenge, (4) "coping minigames" to help manage cravings while attempting to achieve their brief abstinence goals, and (5) a leaderboard "webApp," providing comparative feedback on smokers' participation, and allowing for competition. Heterogeneity of engagement was tracked. Results: All 41 smokers initially reported that they were not actively quitting. Over half were employed less than full time (51%), completed less than a 4-year college education (76%), and experienced financial stress (54%). No smokers opted out of the motivational messages, and mean proportion of response to the challenge quizzes was 0.88 (SD = 0.19). Half of the smokers reported using the "coping minigames." Almost all set abstinence goals (78%), with over half lasting 1-2 days (51%); median = 1 day (IQR 1-7). Leaderboard points ranged widely. Conclusions: Rates of smoking in the developed world have declined, and those who remain smokers are complex and have lower motivation to quit. Using a game-inspired challenge, we achieved high levels of engagement from low-motivation smokers.Source
Games Health J. 2019 Aug;8(4):275-284. doi: 10.1089/g4h.2018.0076. Epub 2019 Jun 20. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1089/g4h.2018.0076Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/50378PubMed ID
31219347Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1089/g4h.2018.0076