Smartphones are a promising channel for health promotion interventions. Mobile applications can track behaviour and provide real-time guidance and support. Research on mobile interventions has mainly focused on physical health and disease management, whereas promotion of mental well-being has received less attention. This paper presents results of a multidisciplinary expert review of twelve currently available mobile applications for mental well-being. The aim of the study was to identify what kinds of engaging and persuasive features are used in the applications and to assess how well the features were implemented. The expert reviews were carried out from user acceptance, mobile intervention design, and persuasive design points of view. Current applications were assessed moderately good from all three perspectives but improvement needs were identified in more versatile utilisation of mobile technology, leveraging social support, and providing a wider range of personalized intervention features.

1. Persuasive Design in Mobile Applications
for Mental Well-being:
Multidisciplinary Expert Review
Ting-Ray Chang 1,2, Eija Kaasinen 1, & Kirsikka Kaipainen 1
1 VTT, Technical Research Centre of Finland
2 University of Cambridge
MobiHealth 2012, Paris

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Introduction
”Design a ’dream app’ for well-being”
”Works like a drug, spreads like a virus”
Experts
What can we
What’s out User-Centric-Design
learn from
there? Process / Iterations
them?
Users

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App markets
Summer 2011, from App markets of Android and iOS
Browsing top 300 free and top 150 paid in health & fitness,
Browsing top 50 of all categories
Keyword search – mood, social, mental, behavio(u)r, happiness,
training, monitor(ing), smoke, awareness, well(-)being
A pool of 85 i-apps and 26 android-apps from 5k+ Apps

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App selection
Mapping apps by
social-individual use,
mental-physical focus
12 Apps selected –
miMood, Mood Runner,
Live Happy, Healthy Habits,
SeemyCity, Anger Coach,
Moodkit, Awareness (Lite),
My Balance, Mood Meter,
My CalmBeat, T2Mood Tracker

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What makes an a dream App? Experts say…
Intention
to Use
Interpretation Profiling and Social
of Data Personalisation Support
Innovativeness Intervention Features
(Behaviour Change Support)
Holistic Approach
System-User Social Support
Primary Task Dialogue
System Credibility Ease of Use
Perceived
Value Trust
Mobile Intervention Persuasive Design User Acceptance

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Single Focus versus Overall Well-being
It’s easy to be a good
app with sharp focus for
short term or immediate
needs and providing
self-awareness in small
steps
However, the real
challenge is to support
overall well-being
http://itunes.apple.com/ug/app/mybalance/id369094340?mt=8

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Automatic data collection
Utilising mobile technology for sensor measurements and interactivity

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Interactivity
Multimodal interactions instead of textual input and passive reading

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Games, rewards, challenges, storyline, practical usages
https://challenge.meyouhealth.com/

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Social Support Mechanism
Instead of one-way sharing on social media, provide social
support mechanisms that allow users connect and share with
a selected group of friends or peers with similar goals. For
gaining feedback and feeling belong.

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Thank you! Questions?
A copy of this presentation can be found on SlideShare shortly,
or on linkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/designresearcher
Follow-up of this study – MUM 2012 , ”What Influences Users'
Decisions to Take Apps into Use? A Framework for Evaluating
Persuasive and Engaging Design in Mobile Apps for Well-Being”
(11th International Conference on Mobile and Ubiquitous
Multimedia, Ulm December 4 – 6, 2012)
Contact the authors: tjtrc2@cam.ac.uk