The Impact of a Gamified Intervention on Daily Steps in Real-Life Conditions: Retrospective Analysis of 4800 Individuals

BackgroundDigital interventions integrating gamification features hold promise to promote daily steps. However, results regarding the effectiveness of this type of intervention are heterogeneous and not yet confirmed in real-life contexts. ObjectiveThis study aims to examine the effectiveness of a gamified intervention and its potential moderators in a large sample using real-world data. Specifically, we tested (1) whether a gamified intervention enhanced daily steps during the intervention and follow-up periods compared to baseline, (2) whether this enhancement was higher in participants in the intervention than in nonparticipants, and (3) what participant characteristics or intervention parameters moderated the effect of the program. MethodsData from 4819 individuals who registered for a mobile health Kiplin program between 2019 and 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. In this intervention, participants could take part in one or several games in which their daily step count was tracked, allowing individuals to play with their overall activity. Nonparticipants were people who registered for the program but did not take part in the intervention and were considered as a control group. Daily step counts were measured via accelerometers embedded in either commercial wearables or smartphones of the participants. Exposure to the intervention, the intervention content, and participants’ characteristics were included in multilevel models to test the study objectives. ResultsParticipants in the intervention group demonstrated a significantly greater increase in mean daily steps from baseline than nonparticipants (P