{"id":{"repo_id":"uwo","oai_identifier":"oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/36896"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/uwo/oai:uwo.scholaris.ca:20.500.14721/36896","repository":{"repo_id":"uwo","name":"Western University","base_url":"https://uwo.scholaris.ca/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Examining the long-term effects of a commercial mHealth app: A 24-month quasi-experimental study of 516,818 app users","abstract":"BACKGROUND: The long-term (i.e., ≥ 12 months) effects of commercial mHealth apps on physical activity (PA) have been scarcely studied. PURPOSE: To conduct a longitudinal examination of a ‘top tier’ commercial mHealth app on population-level PA. METHODS: A 24-month pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted between December 2016 and June 2019 with Carrot Rewards app users in Ontario, Canada. Users with valid smartphone-assessed baseline step count data were included. Simple linear regression models analyzed weekly mean daily step counts. Post-hoc estimates examined differences in weekly mean daily step count from baseline. RESULTS: The total sample included 516,818 users (% female: 62.83; age [SD]: 33.46 [12.65] years; baseline daily step count [SD]: 6,035 [3,706]). Compared to baseline, weekly mean daily step counts were 464 (95% CIs: 453, 475) and 242 (95% CIs: 221, 264) steps/day higher at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: This commercial mHealth app increased population-level PA over 24 months.","abstract_html":"BACKGROUND: The long-term (i.e., ≥ 12 months) effects of commercial mHealth apps on physical activity (PA) have been scarcely studied. PURPOSE: To conduct a longitudinal examination of a ‘top tier’ commercial mHealth app on population-level PA. METHODS: A 24-month pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted between December 2016 and June 2019 with Carrot Rewards app users in Ontario, Canada. Users with valid smartphone-assessed baseline step count data were included. Simple linear regression models analyzed weekly mean daily step counts. Post-hoc estimates examined differences in weekly mean daily step count from baseline. RESULTS: The total sample included 516,818 users (% female: 62.83; age [SD]: 33.46 [12.65] years; baseline daily step count [SD]: 6,035 [3,706]). Compared to baseline, weekly mean daily step counts were 464 (95% CIs: 453, 475) and 242 (95% CIs: 221, 264) steps/day higher at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: This commercial mHealth app increased population-level PA over 24 months.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Nguyen, Lisa"],"institution":"The University of Western Ontario","degree_name":"M Sc","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Kinesiology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Mitchell, Marc S."],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2024,"date_issued":"2024-06-26","date_published":"2024-06-26","updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:56Z","subjects":["Mobile Health","Smartphone Applications","Physical Activity","Financial Health Incentives"],"languages":["en_ca"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36896","outbound_label":"Handle","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.uri"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Mitchell, Marc S."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Nguyen, Lisa"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.accessioned","label":"Dc Date Accessioned","values":["2025-07-10T21:27:19Z"]},{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2024-06-26"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["The University of Western Ontario"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Kinesiology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M Sc"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Mobile Health","Smartphone Applications","Physical Activity","Financial Health Incentives"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language.iso","label":"Language (ISO)","values":["en_ca"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36896"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."]},{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["BACKGROUND: The long-term (i.e., ≥ 12 months) effects of commercial mHealth apps on physical activity (PA) have been scarcely studied. PURPOSE: To conduct a longitudinal examination of a ‘top tier’ commercial mHealth app on population-level PA. METHODS: A 24-month pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted between December 2016 and June 2019 with Carrot Rewards app users in Ontario, Canada. Users with valid smartphone-assessed baseline step count data were included. Simple linear regression models analyzed weekly mean daily step counts. Post-hoc estimates examined differences in weekly mean daily step count from baseline. RESULTS: The total sample included 516,818 users (% female: 62.83; age [SD]: 33.46 [12.65] years; baseline daily step count [SD]: 6,035 [3,706]). Compared to baseline, weekly mean daily step counts were 464 (95% CIs: 453, 475) and 242 (95% CIs: 221, 264) steps/day higher at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: This commercial mHealth app increased population-level PA over 24 months."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Examining the long-term effects of a commercial mHealth app: A 24-month quasi-experimental study of 516,818 app users"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor.advisor":["Mitchell, Marc S."],"dc:creator":["Nguyen, Lisa"],"dc:date.accessioned":["2025-07-10T21:27:19Z"],"dc:date.issued":["2024-06-26"],"dc:description":["The thesis cover page in the PDF document includes references to Western University’s previous institutional repository platform, known as Scholarship@Western, and links to that platform (beginning with ir.lib.uwo.ca). In citing or referring to this thesis, use the DOI or handle from this page instead. Sample citation: Author name, \"Thesis title.\" (Year). Western University Open Repository. https://doi.org/10.71858/123456."],"dc:description.abstract":["BACKGROUND: The long-term (i.e., ≥ 12 months) effects of commercial mHealth apps on physical activity (PA) have been scarcely studied. PURPOSE: To conduct a longitudinal examination of a ‘top tier’ commercial mHealth app on population-level PA. METHODS: A 24-month pre-post quasi-experimental study was conducted between December 2016 and June 2019 with Carrot Rewards app users in Ontario, Canada. Users with valid smartphone-assessed baseline step count data were included. Simple linear regression models analyzed weekly mean daily step counts. Post-hoc estimates examined differences in weekly mean daily step count from baseline. RESULTS: The total sample included 516,818 users (% female: 62.83; age [SD]: 33.46 [12.65] years; baseline daily step count [SD]: 6,035 [3,706]). Compared to baseline, weekly mean daily step counts were 464 (95% CIs: 453, 475) and 242 (95% CIs: 221, 264) steps/day higher at 12 and 24 months, respectively. CONCLUSION: This commercial mHealth app increased population-level PA over 24 months."],"dc:identifier.uri":["https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14721/36896"],"dc:language.iso":["en_ca"],"dc:publisher":["The University of Western Ontario"],"dc:subject":["Mobile Health","Smartphone Applications","Physical Activity","Financial Health Incentives"],"dc:title":["Examining the long-term effects of a commercial mHealth app: A 24-month quasi-experimental study of 516,818 app users"],"dc:type":["thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Kinesiology"],"thesis:degree_name":["M Sc"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-27T21:55:56Z"}