Enhancing physical activity through context-aware coaching

We present the methodology and results of a field study on the effectiveness of personalized, context-aware coaching. The study consisted of a two-week calibration period, a coaching week and a fade out week. During the whole study, participants' step count and location was monitored continuously. In the coaching week, participants received a daily personalized step target and were coached through a custom-made smart phone app to reach this target. Participants in the context-aware condition received personalized, context-aware coaching messages in real-time, while participants in the control condition only received messages offering general advice, delivered at fixed, predefined moments. The results of this field study suggest that context-aware coaching is effective, even though the difference between the control and context-aware participants was not statistically significant. Moreover, context-aware coaching was appreciated by participants. Based on their feedback provided during exit interviews, guidelines for the development of context-aware e-coaching interventions were formulated.