Exploring mechanisms of behaviour change in interventions using mobile technologies: new opportunities

abstract no. O29.3Theme: Promoting healthy eating and physical activity: The latest international researchPURPOSE: The identification of mechanism of behaviour change is necessary for the systematic progression of physical activity (PA) and dietary behaviour research. The ability of mobile technologies to continuously collect a large amount of objective data on behaviours (e.g., PA levels and geographical locations) and self-report data on related psychosocial mechanisms (e.g., barriers to PA) in “real-time” has the potential to substantially advance our understanding of whether and how intervention strategies can change people’s behaviour. METHODS: Using simulated data on a hypothetical mobile phone- and GPS-based PA intervention programme, three types of statistical models …postprin