Tracked Physical Activity Levels Before and After a Change in Incentive Strategy Among UK Adults Using a Rewards App: Retrospective Quasi-Experimental Study.

Background: Financial incentives delivered via apps appear to be effective in encouraging physical activity. However, the literature on different incentive strategies is limited, and the question remains whether financial incentives offer a cost-effective intervention that could be funded at the population level.

Objective: This study aimed to explore patterns of tracked physical activity by users of an incentive-based app before and after a change in incentive strategy.

Exploring the Impact of a Sleep App on Sleep Quality in a General Population Sample: Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: A third of adults in Western countries have impaired sleep quality. A possible solution involves distributing sleep aids through smartphone apps, but most empirical studies are limited to small pilot trials in distinct populations (eg, soldiers) or individuals with clinical sleep disorders; therefore, general population data are required. Furthermore, recent research shows that sleep app users desire a personalized approach, offering an individually tailored choice of techniques.

Rates of, and factors associated with, common mental disorders in homeworking UK Government response employees' during COVID-19: a cross-sectional survey and secondary data analysis.

Introduction: Working on the frontline during the COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with increased risk to mental health and wellbeing in multiple occupations and contexts. The current study aimed to provide an insight into the rate of probable mental health problems amongst United Kingdom (UK) Government employees who contributed to the COVID-19 response whilst working from home, and to ascertain what factors and constructs, if any, influence mental health and wellbeing in the sample population.

Method: This paper reports on the findings from two studies completed by UK Government employees.

Behavior Change Techniques Within Digital Interventions for the Treatment of Eating Disorders: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Previous systematic reviews of digital eating disorder interventions have demonstrated effectiveness at improving symptoms of eating disorders; however, our understanding of how these interventions work and what contributes to their effectiveness is limited. Understanding the behavior change techniques (BCTs) that are most commonly included within effective interventions may provide valuable information for researchers and developers. Establishing whether these techniques have been informed by theory will identify whether they target those mechanisms of action that have been identified as core to changing eating disorder behaviors.

Factors associated with wearing a facemask in shops in England following removal of a legal requirement to do so during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: We aimed to identify psychological factors associated with the use of facemasks in shops in England following removal of legal requirements to do so, and to compare associations with and without legal restrictions.

Design: Repeated cross-sectional online surveys (n ≈ 2000 adults) between August 2020 and April 2022 (68,716 responses from 45,682 participants) using quota sampling.

Methods: The outcome measure was whether those who had visited a shop for essentials in the previous seven days reported always having worn a facemask versus sometimes or not at all.

How Notifications Affect Engagement With a Behavior Change App: Results From a Micro-Randomized Trial.

Background: Drink Less is a behavior change app to help higher-risk drinkers in the United Kingdom reduce their alcohol consumption. The app includes a daily notification asking users to "Please complete your drinks and mood diary," yet we did not understand the causal effect of the notification on engagement nor how to improve this component of Drink Less. We developed a new bank of 30 new messages to increase users' reflective motivation to engage with Drink Less.

Frameworks for Implementation, Uptake, and Use of Cardiometabolic Disease-Related Digital Health Interventions in Ethnic Minority Populations: Scoping Review.

Background: Digital health interventions have become increasingly common across health care, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Health inequalities, particularly with respect to ethnicity, may not be considered in frameworks that address the implementation of digital health interventions. We considered frameworks to include any models, theories, or taxonomies that describe or predict implementation, uptake, and use of digital health interventions.

Psychological wellbeing in the English population during the COVID-19 pandemic: A series of cross-sectional surveys.

Psychological distress has been elevated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, few studies published to date have investigated distress after the first wave of infections (Spring - Summer 2020). We investigated distress and wellbeing between April 2020 and April 2022 in England through a series of cross-sectional online surveys.

Patterns of social mixing in England changed in line with restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic (September 2020 to April 2022).

Social mixing contributes to the transmission of SARS-CoV-2. We developed a composite measure for risky social mixing, investigating changes during the pandemic and factors associated with risky mixing. Forty-five waves of online cross-sectional surveys were used (n = 78,917 responses; 14 September 2020 to 13 April 2022).

The mental health of staff working on intensive care units over the COVID-19 winter surge of 2020 in England: a cross sectional survey.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic generated a surge of critically ill patients greater than the capacity of the UK National Health Service (NHS). There have been multiple well-documented impacts associated with the national COVID-19 pandemic surge on ICU staff, including an increased prevalence of mental health disorders on a scale potentially sufficient to impair high-quality care delivery. We investigated the prevalence of five mental health outcomes; explored demographic and professional predictors of poor mental health outcomes; and describe the prevalence of functional impairment; and explore demographic and professional predictors of functional impairment in ICU staff over the 2020/2021 winter COVID-19 surge in England.

Engagement with protective behaviours in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: a series of cross-sectional surveys (the COVID-19 rapid survey of adherence to interventions and responses [CORSAIR] study).

Background: Behaviour is key to suppressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Maintaining behaviour change can be difficult. We investigated engagement with hand cleaning, reducing the number of outings, and wearing a face covering over the course of the pandemic.

Worry and behaviour at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak: Results from three UK surveys (the COVID-19 rapid survey of Adherence to Interventions and responses [CORSAIR] study).

We aimed to describe worry and uptake of behaviours that prevent the spread of infection (respiratory and hand hygiene, distancing) in the UK at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak (January and February 2020) and to investigate factors associated with worry and adopting protective behaviours. Three cross-sectional online surveys of UK adults (28 to 30 January, n = 2016; 3 to 6 February, n = 2002; 10 to 13 February 2020, n = 2006) were conducted. We used logistic regressions to investigate associations between outcome measures (worry, respiratory and hand hygiene behaviour, distancing behaviour) and explanatory variables.

Benefits realization management in the context of a national digital transformation initiative in English provider organizations.

Background: The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) Programme is a national initiative to promote digitally enabled transformation in English provider organizations. The Programme applied benefits realization management techniques to promote and demonstrate transformative outcomes. This work was part of an independent national evaluation of the GDE Programme.

Intention to adhere to test, trace, and isolate during the COVID-19 pandemic (the COVID-19 Rapid Survey of Adherence to Interventions and Responses study).

Objectives: (1) To investigate factors associated with intention to self-isolate, request a test, and share details of close contacts when required. (2) To determine whether associations were stronger during periods when less stringent national COVID-19 restrictions were in place.

Design: Series of cross-sectional nationally representative surveys.

Running App "Zombies, Run!" Users' Engagement with Physical Activity: A Qualitative Study.

Sufficient physical activity (PA) is important for all aspects of health. Smartphone apps and the use of gamification, such as narrative-based augmented reality (AR), have a great potential to engage a variety of people in more PA. Zombies, Run! (ZR) is the world's most popular running exergame app and therefore a suitable model to understand what users find engaging.

Holding a stigmatizing attitude at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak: A cross-sectional survey.

Objectives: To identify the prevalence of a stigmatizing attitude towards people of Chinese origin at the start of the COVID-19 outbreak in the UK population and investigate factors associated with holding the stigmatizing attitude.

Design: Online cross-sectional survey conducted 10-13 February 2020 (n = 2006, people aged 16 years or over and living in the UK).

Methods: We asked participants to what extent they agreed it was best to avoid areas heavily populated by Chinese people because of the COVID-19 outbreak.

An Evaluation Service for Digital Public Health Interventions: User-Centered Design Approach.

Background: Digital health interventions (DHIs) have the potential to improve public health by combining effective interventions and population reach. However, what biomedical researchers and digital developers consider an effective intervention differs, thereby creating an ongoing challenge to integrating their respective approaches when evaluating DHIs.

Objective: This study aims to report on the Public Health England (PHE) initiative set out to operationalize an evaluation framework that combines biomedical and digital approaches and demonstrates the impact, cost-effectiveness, and benefit of DHIs on public health.

Promoting inter-organisational knowledge sharing: A qualitative evaluation of England's Global Digital Exemplar and Fast Follower Programme.

Background: The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) Programme was designed to promote the digitisation of hospital services in England. Selected provider organisations that were reasonably digitally-mature were funded with the expectation that they would achieve internationally recognised levels of excellence and act as exemplars ('GDE sites') and share their learning with somewhat less digitally-mature Fast Follower (FF) sites.

Aims: This paper explores how partnerships between GDE and FF sites have promoted knowledge sharing and learning between organisations.

Adherence to the test, trace, and isolate system in the UK: results from 37 nationally representative surveys.

Objective: To investigate rates of adherence to the UK's test, trace, and isolate system over the initial 11 months of the covid-19 pandemic.

Design: Series of cross sectional online surveys.

Setting: 37 nationally representative surveys in the UK, 2 March 2020 to 27 January 2021.

Using Blueprints to promote interorganizational knowledge transfer in digital health initiatives-a qualitative exploration of a national change program in English hospitals.

Objective: The Global Digital Exemplar (GDE) Program is a national attempt to accelerate digital maturity in healthcare providers through promoting knowledge transfer across the English National Health Service (NHS). "Blueprints"-documents capturing implementation experience-were intended to facilitate this knowledge transfer. Here we explore how Blueprints have been conceptualized, produced, and used to promote interorganizational knowledge transfer across the NHS.

A Virtual Reality Exergame to Engage Adolescents in Physical Activity: Mixed Methods Study Describing the Formative Intervention Development Process.

Background: Early adolescence (13-17 years) is a critical developmental stage for physical activity promotion. Virtual reality (VR) exergaming is a promising intervention strategy to engage adolescents in physical activity.

Objective: The vEngage project aims to develop a physical activity intervention for adolescents using VR exergaming.