Improving physical activity: Just-In-Time-Adaptive-Interventions

Physical activity is strongly associated with all-cause mortality, physical and mental health, and therefore a great concern for public health authorities and organizations such as WHO. Lack of physical activity is one of the primary causes behind premature death and rising healthcare costs. Just-In-Time-Adaptive-Interventions (JITAI) are designed to provide individualized support in the moment where it is needed the most, typically, through mobile technology. JITAIs are researched and suggested as one way of increasing physical activity and have been considered promising for some years. This research studies 1) how feasible and effective they are, and 2) how feasibility and effectiveness might be improved. Many JITAIs are based on the theoretical framework by Nahum-Shani et al, consequently this study suggests and explores how JITAIs might be improved by expanding the framework. The research finds that the empirical evidence for feasibility and effectiveness is weak and suggests how this might be improved by adding and optimizing JITAI components. The suggestions need to be validated through future research.