Using information generated by health apps to increase personal health and fitness knowledge

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contributionpeer-review

Abstract

Many people find themselves living unhealthy lifestyles, not because they are not interested in being healthy but rather because they have little to no knowledge about making the right decisions based on a living a healthier lifestyle. With the proliferation of awareness of health and fitness in the 21st century, has resulted in a rise in the number of gymnasiums and aids for people to choose a healthier life. Electronic devices and health and fitness mobile applications (apps) have flooded the health and fitness market. This study was conducted within the University of Johannesburg. The aim of the study was to investigate how tertiary students make use of the information provided by the Health Apps to develop their knowledge of personal health to make healthier life decisions. The theory of planned behaviour was used was used as the framework to conduct the empirical study. This theory of planned behaviour stipulates that the health and fitness apps information provided aid the students in making healthier decisions, resulting in the understanding that Health and Fitness Apps deliberately plan to influence the behaviour of users in making healthier decisions. This theory predicted the deliberate behaviour since the behaviour can be planned and deliberative. The results of the research indicated that students had little or no knowledge to enable them to make the right decisions about their physical well-being. Those that made use of the health and fitness apps were able to make good health decisions, as they indicated the different benefits its came with, even though they were used for different reasons. The effectiveness of the health and fitness apps can be examined through determining how the students develop their knowledge, based on the information generated by the apps. This paper looks into what aspects affect participants' initial use of the health and fitness technology. The paper also seeks to identify how user satisfaction is taken into consideration when utilisation of the apps is linked to continued use of the apps.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationProceedings of the 20th European Conference on Knowledge Management, ECKM 2019
EditorsEduardo Tome, Francisco Cesario, Raquel Reis Soares
PublisherAcademic Conferences Limited
Pages77-83
Number of pages7
ISBN (Electronic)9781912764327
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019
Event20th European Conference on Knowledge Management, ECKM 2019 - Lisbon, Portugal
Duration: 5 Sept 20196 Sept 2019

Publication series

NameProceedings of the European Conference on Knowledge Management, ECKM
Volume1
ISSN (Print)2048-8963
ISSN (Electronic)2048-8971

Conference

Conference20th European Conference on Knowledge Management, ECKM 2019
Country/TerritoryPortugal
CityLisbon
Period5/09/196/09/19

Keywords

  • Decision making
  • Health and fitness apps
  • Knowledge development
  • Mobile applications
  • Tertiary students

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Information Systems and Management
  • Management Science and Operations Research

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Using information generated by health apps to increase personal health and fitness knowledge'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this