Purpose

Health apps offer a potential approach to support healthier food behaviours but a lack of sufficient engagement may limit effectiveness. This study aims to use a user engagement theoretical lens to examine the factors that influence app engagement over time and may prompt disengagement.

Design/methodology/approach

A phenomenological exploration of the lived experience was used. Women from a lower socioeconomic background (based on the occupation and employment status of the household’s primary income earner) were randomly assigned to use one of two apps for a minimum of eight weeks. Multiple data collection methods, including accompanied shops, researcher observations, interviews, participant reflective accounts and questionnaires, were used at different time-points to examine engagement. Theoretical thematic analysis was conducted to explore the engagement experience and relevant social, personal and environmental influences.

Findings

Healthy food involvement appears to drive app engagement. Changes in situational involvement may contribute to fluctuation in engagement intensity over time as the saliency of personal goals change. Negatively valenced engagement dimensions may contribute to the overall expression of engagement. A lack of congruency with personal goals or an imbalance between perceived personal investment and value was expressed as the primary reasons for disengagement.

Research limitations/implications

Situational involvement may act as a trigger of different engagement phases. There is a need to better distinguish between enduring and situational involvement in engagement research.

Practical implications

Individual characteristics may shape engagement and propensity for disengagement, which highlights the practical importance of incorporating tailored features into app design.

Originality/value

Findings broaden the current conceptualisation of engagement within the digital space and prompt a reconsideration of the role of situational involvement and negatively valenced dimensions throughout the engagement process.

中文翻译：

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探索与健康应用程序的互动：情境参与和个人特征的重要性

目的

健康应用程序提供了一种支持更健康饮食行为的潜在方法，但缺乏足够的参与可能会限制有效性。本研究旨在使用用户参与度理论视角来检查随着时间的推移影响应用程序参与度并可能促使用户脱离的因素。

设计/方法/方法

使用了对生活经验的现象学探索。来自较低社会经济背景的女性（根据家庭主要收入者的职业和就业状况）被随机分配使用两个应用程序之一至少八周。在不同的时间点使用多种数据收集方法，包括随行商店、研究人员观察、访谈、参与者反思帐户和问卷调查，以检查参与度。进行了理论主题分析，以探索参与经验和相关的社会、个人和环境影响。

发现

健康食品的参与似乎推动了应用程序的参与。随着个人目标的显着性变化，情境参与的变化可能会导致参与强度随时间的波动。负价参与维度可能有助于参与的整体表达。与个人目标不一致或感知的个人投资与价值之间的不平衡被认为是脱离的主要原因。

研究限制/影响

情境参与可能会触发不同的参与阶段。需要更好地区分参与研究中的持久参与和情境参与。

实际影响

个人特征可能会影响参与度和脱离倾向，这凸显了将定制功能融入应用程序设计的实际重要性。

原创性/价值

调查结果拓宽了当前数字空间中参与的概念化，并促使人们重新考虑整个参与过程中情境参与和负面价值维度的作用。