Investigating the Use of Avatars in mHealth Apps : Digital Health, Winter Term 22/23

Background: Mobile health apps have become increasingly important, particularly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and the growing digitalization of various aspects of our lives. To encourage app usage, developers often use gamification techniques, with avatars being one potential game design element. However, the effectiveness of avatars has not been extensively studied. Research on avatars in marketing contexts has yielded mixed results, but there is a lack of investigation into their use in mHealth apps. Therefore, further research is needed to identify how avatars are used in mHealth apps and what design features are employed.
Objective: This seminar paper aims to address the research question of "How are avatars currently used in gamified health apps?" (RQ1) and "What are the specific features of avatars found in the identified apps?" (RQ2).
Methods: In order to answer the research question of this paper, a quantitative evaluation of mHealth apps was conducted, resulting in the identification of N=17 apps employing avatars. Within the identified apps, avatars are systematically examined in order to develop a typology based on the acquired insights. ... mehr
Results: The app analysis revealed that avatars were predominantly found in the categories of ‘sports & fitness’ and ‘mental health & wellbeing’ apps, indicating a potential need for additional user motivation in these categories. The interaction with avatars in mHealth apps mainly involved touch gestures, contrasting with previous findings in the marketing context where speech and text interactions were more common. Additionally, there was a trend towards three-dimensional and dynamic avatars, likely influenced by advancements in device capabilities and animation techniques.
Conclusion: This study has established a groundwork for future research on avatars in gamified health apps. By refining the definition of avatars and developing a typology, this work provides a solid foundation for further exploration in the field of mHealth apps Initial patterns and trends in avatar usage have been identified, but additional research is necessary to validate these trends and understand their potential advantages.