A digital reward programme increased adherence to home blood pressure management, with 66.8% of participants completing daily measurement missions compared to 7.1% in the control group.
Cohort (n=455)
Does a digital reward program improve engagement and adherence to home blood pressure management?
A digital reward program utilizing gamification significantly improved participant engagement and adherence to home blood pressure monitoring compared to standard app usage.
Absolute Event Rate: 66.8% vs 7.1%
Objective: Effective home blood pressure management (HBPM) is crucial for preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD). We aimed to explore how integrating gamification with digital rewards on HBPM enhances the engagement of blood pressure management.Design and method: A HBPM rewarding programme was initiated in May Measure Month between May and June 2025. Participants are recommended to measure their blood pressure and upload the records in a mobile health App, named HealthCap. They engaged with different missions to earn digital points, A. Point, which can be redeemed for various benefits through the Alipay platform. Bonus rewards were given to those who collected weekly blood pressure data with morning and evening readings. Participants were recruited at health talks and on social media. A group of HealthCap users was recruited before the rewarding programme, between January and April, to serve as a control group. The consent form was signed before they started blood pressure data collection. Results: A total of 455 participants were recruited for the HBPM program from January to June2025. Among these, 314 participants were enrolled in the rewarding program, with 141 joining before its launch. A total of 38,767 blood pressure records uploaded to the mobile app for 8 consecutive weeks. The participants of the digital reward programme were younger (mean age 54.7±12.82 years vs 62.07±14.86, p-value<0.001). Under the rewarding programme, 210(66.8%) users completed 2 times measurement in the morning 137(43.6%) users completed weekly missions adherence to 7-2-2 guideline; and 29(9.2%) completed monthly missions(7-2-2 regimen for 4 consecutive weeks). In contrast, the control group had 10(7.1%) users who completed an average length of 17.6 days; only 1(0.7%) user completed 4 weekly missions, and no user completed a monthly mission. Conclusions: The rewarding program effectively increased participant engagement and adherence to HBPM, demonstrating the effectiveness of gamification in promoting healthy behaviors in real-world settings. Future research should focus on the long-term effects of gamified interventions on adherence to health monitoring practices.
Tsoi et al. (Fri,) conducted a cohort in Blood pressure management (n=455). Digital reward programme vs. Historical control group (no reward programme) was evaluated on Completion of daily mission (2 measurements in the morning and 2 in the evening). A digital reward programme increased adherence to home blood pressure management, with 66.8% of participants completing daily measurement missions compared to 7.1% in the control group.