Electronic Healthcare. 4th International Conference, eHealth 2011, Málaga, Spain, November 21-23, 2011, Revised Selected Papers

Research Article

The Physical Activity Loyalty Card Scheme: Development and Application of a Novel System for Incentivizing Behaviour Change

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  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-642-29262-0_25,
        author={Ruth Hunter and Michael Davis and Mark Tully and Frank Kee},
        title={The Physical Activity Loyalty Card Scheme: Development and Application of a Novel System for Incentivizing Behaviour Change},
        proceedings={Electronic Healthcare. 4th International Conference, eHealth 2011, M\^{a}laga, Spain, November 21-23, 2011, Revised Selected Papers},
        proceedings_a={E-HEALTH},
        year={2012},
        month={5},
        keywords={incentives nudging physical activity behaviour change Web 2.0 RFID tags sensor technologies},
        doi={10.1007/978-3-642-29262-0_25}
    }
    
  • Ruth Hunter
    Michael Davis
    Mark Tully
    Frank Kee
    Year: 2012
    The Physical Activity Loyalty Card Scheme: Development and Application of a Novel System for Incentivizing Behaviour Change
    E-HEALTH
    Springer
    DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-29262-0_25
Ruth Hunter1,*, Michael Davis1, Mark Tully, Frank Kee
  • 1: Queen’s University
*Contact email: ruth.hunter@qub.ac.uk

Abstract

In the Public Health White Paper “Healthy Lives, Healthy People” (2010), the UK Government emphasised using incentives and “nudging” to encourage positive, healthy behaviour changes. However, there is little evidence that nudging is effective, in particular for increasing physical activity. We have created a platform to research the effectiveness of health-related behaviour change interventions and incentive schemes. The system consists of an outward-facing website, incorporating tools for incentivizing behaviour change, and a novel physical activity monitoring system. The monitoring system consists of the “Physical Activity Loyalty Card”, which contains a passive RFID tag, and a contactless sensor network to detect the cards. This paper describes the application of this novel web-based system to investigate the effectiveness of non-cash incentives to “nudge” adults to undertake more physical activity.