Storywell: Designing for Family Fitness App Motivation by Using Social Rewards and Reflection

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Physical activity (PA) is critical for reducing the risk of obesity, a prevalent health concern that burdens low-socioeconomic status (SES) households. While self-tracking apps can increase PA, encouraging app engagement remains a challenge, thus limiting the app's efficacy. To understand how to better support caregiver's motivation to use family health apps, we designed and evaluated Storywell–a mobile app for promoting family PA. Guided by Self-Determination Theory, Storywell provides social rewards (e.g., storybooks with interactive reflective questions) aimed at supporting relatedness and motivation. Our 3-month qualitative study with 18 families revealed satisfying moments that can affect caregiver's motivation. We contribute new knowledge on designing satisfying moments that heighten the motivation to use health apps, especially for low-SES families who face many barriers to using such systems.