Start
Peer-supported physical activity in the workplace
Our Partners
Finding time for walking in the workplace
With Australians increasing their time at work and commuting to work, it can be hard to find time for physical exercise. Curtin University’s Physical Activity and Wellbeing Lab sought to address this with a workplace-based walking intervention, and they engaged Reach HPI to develop a new app to facilitate this.
Participants self-organised in groups, and set a personal challenge to walk a certain distance. Team members logged their daily step counts, and walking activities they undertook either individually or as part of organised group activities before work, after work, or during lunch breaks. They could also access information and support.
A simple but beautiful user interface
The START app called for a simple, highly usable interface, but one that would not look out of place next to other commercial fitness apps users might be familiar with. We developed a beautiful design with a focus on strong photography and typography.
To provide the research team with with fine-grained data about user engagement with the app, we also developed a custom analytics framework . Custom analytics can solve the problems associated with off-the-shelf solutions like Google’s Firebase, by providing detailed data without privacy compromises. Reach HPI specialises in the development of these custom frameworks.
Project branding and support materials
Effective mHealth interventions require more than a great app. Projects that are well-branded and presented encourage user engagement. And beyond the immediate research, putting a professional face to a project can help with attracting media interest, additional collaborators, or funders for further research or a public deployment.
We developed a branding strategy, logo and presentation collateral for the START project. Reach HPI Director James White brings a wealth of experience in branding and corporate image design, from both the public and private sector, and this experience is a valuable asset in helping projects put their best foot forward.
Publications
Feasibility and preliminary effects of a peer-led motivationally-embellished workplace walking intervention: A pilot cluster randomized trial (the START trial)
C. Thøgersen-Ntoumani, E. Quested, B. Smith, J. Nicholas, J. McVeigh, S. Fenton, E. Stamatakis, S. Parker, G. Pereira, D. Gucciardi, N. Ntoumanis. Contemporary Clinical Trials 2020
Development and evaluation of a mobile phone application designed to support physically inactive employees to increase walking
J. Nicholas, C. Thøgersen-Ntoumani, B. Smith, E. Quested, N. Ntoumanis. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. Preprint.