Investigating the Role of Health Coaching Attendance in Sustained mHealth App Use: An Exploratory Analysis
Applied/Translational Research
Care Continuum
Singapore Health Biomedical Congress
National Healthcare Group
11 February 2026
This analysis investigates whether health coaching (HC) attendance is associated with higher engagement with an mHealth app. Higher HC attendance was associated with higher user engagement in the mHealth app.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 11 February 2026
Tags: Quantitative Research, Physical Health, Patient Education, Applied/Translational Research, Care Continuum, Population Health, Preventive Care
About this Content
Aims
This analysis investigates whether health coaching (HC) attendance is associated with higher engagement with an mHealth app among participants of an ongoing trial.
Background
Sustaining user engagement remains a persistent challenge in mobile health (mHealth) interventions. Multicomponent mHealth interventions combining mHealth with human support may help promote sustained app usage.
Methods
Participants were scheduled for one HC session per month for 6 months. Based on attendance, they were categorized as full attendance (FA) or partial attendance (PA). Intended weekly app engagement included daily medication logging, daily food tracking, and viewing an educational module. Monthly scores were calculated as averages of weekly scores. Group differences were analyzed using MannWhitney U tests at each month, and a linear mixed-effects model examined overall engagement trends across the 6-month period.
Results
Of the 26 participants included in this analysis (16[62%] male, 19[73%] Chinese; Median age=62, IQR=[56.25, 66.5]), 15(58%) had FA. FA group had consistently higher monthly scores, but no statistically significant differences were observed at individual months (Month 1: p=0.385; Month 6: p=0.058). The linear mixed-effects model showed a significant overall effect of time, with monthly score decreasing by 0.166 (95%CI: -0.331 to -0.001, p=0.005) every month. The PA group had a significantly lower monthly score (=-3.034, 95%CI: -5.917 to -0.151, p=0.039) compared to the FA group.
Lessons Learnt
Higher HC attendance was associated with higher user engagement in the mHealth app. This suggests that the integration of allied health professionals support with mHealth intervention sustains app usage, highlighting the value of human-technology dynamics in designing digital therapeutics.
Additional Information
This study is supported by CArdiovascular DiseasE National Collaborative Enterprise (CADENCE) National Clinical Translational Program (MOH-001277-01) and conducted in collaboration with National University of Singapore, National University Hospital, National University Heart Centre Singapore, National University Polyclinics, and National Healthcare Group Polyclinics.
Keywords
mhealth, CVD prevention, health coaching, digital health, public health
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | National Healthcare Group |
Organization(s) Involved | Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine NTU Singapore |
Platform(s) | Singapore Health Biomedical Congress |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Academia |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Clinical Research, General Research |
Project Lead(s) | Iva Bojic |
Project Member(s) | Ashwini Lawate |
Connect with this contributor!
Iva Bojic - iva.bojic@ntu.edu.sg