{"id":12788,"date":"2025-02-11T10:41:44","date_gmt":"2025-02-11T10:41:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/ayla-schwarz-on-implementing-and-scaling-physical-activity-apps\/"},"modified":"2025-02-13T09:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-02-13T09:28:05","slug":"ayla-schwarz-on-implementing-and-scaling-physical-activity-apps","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/8d.nl\/en\/ayla-schwarz-on-implementing-and-scaling-physical-activity-apps\/","title":{"rendered":"Ayla Schwarz on implementing and scaling physical activity apps"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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\"Ayla
Ayla Schwarz<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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Dr. Ayla Schwarz is an Assistant Professor specializing in Implementation and Engagement in Digital Health at Wageningen University, part of the Consumption and Healthy Lifestyles chair group. Her research focuses on behavior change and technology, with a particular emphasis on promoting physical activity among children and adolescents. As the lead researcher of BEweegAPP+, she is currently working with JOGG, 8D, Kenniscentrum Sport en Bewegen and multiple municipalities to explore how policy can support effective scaling and implementation of physical activity apps.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n <\/div>\n \n\n\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

Schwarz previously collaborated with 8D on Vital@2040, an academic partnership aimed at encouraging physical activity among youth in low-income neighborhoods. By conducting interviews with neighborhood sports coaches, including users of the physical activity app Missie Master, she identified barriers and opportunities for integrating gamification into their activities. How did she conduct the research, what were the results, and what are the next steps?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn the early stages of my career, I primarily focused on user engagement\u2014exploring how a physical activity app could be designed to appeal to children and adolescents,\u201d says Schwarz. \u201cBut I quickly encountered a more fundamental issue: for any health application, it is challenging to match the appeal of entertainment games, especially with limited budgets for promotion. Without enough users, it makes little sense to keep improving such an app \u2014 and evaluating its effects becomes impossible. This shifted my focus to implementation and scaling, with a particular emphasis on the roles that neighborhood sports coaches, policymakers, and researchers can play in this process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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“Implementing gamification on a larger scale requires significantly more support for neighbourhood sports coaches.”<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Insights from neighborhood sports coaches
<\/strong>Schwarz conducted interviews with 25 neighborhood sports coaches, including those using Missie Master, a physical activity app developed by Sportbedrijf Drachten and 8D. \u201cI had been thinking about involving intermediaries, such as neighborhood sports coaches, in my research for a while. Since they work directly with youth and children, their insights and needs for effectively integrating gamification are incredibly valuable. During a conference hosted by Kenniscentrum Sport en Bewegen<\/a>, I attended Maarten\u2019s presentation on Missie Master<\/a> and the inspiring way it is used in the Smallingerland region. However, it also became clear that scaling the app to other municipalities presented significant challenges. That\u2019s when the idea for this research started to take off.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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