(308) Integration of a Wellness Smartphone App in a School of Pharmacy

Objective : To describe the integration of a wellness smartphone app in a school of pharmacy and identify influential factors of student, staff and faculty engagement.

Methods: All School of Pharmacy faculty, staff, and students were given individual subscriptions to Wellspace at the start of the academic year. Aggregate data was analyzed to determine factors that influence user engagement, physical activity and well-being.

Results: Eighty percent of didactic students (ie P1, P2 and P3) as well as 46 faculty and staff downloaded the app and registered an account. The highest rate of overall user engagement (39%) was during the first month of subscription access and declined throughout the time of study (less than 5%). Competitions for wellness-related prizes led to significantly higher engagement rates, and number of steps. The presence of competitions was associated with an overall higher percentage of user engagement (r = .53, p<.001), number of engaged users (r = .53, p<.001), and number of steps (r = .49, p<.001). Given declining levels of user engagement over the academic year, meaningful well-being data was not able to be analyzed.

Conclusions: A wellness smartphone app was successfully integrated within a school of pharmacy, however, poor usage limited the utility of data captured. Approaches to increase user engagement is paramount for more robust incorporation.A wellness smartphone app was successfully integrated within a school of pharmacy, however, poor usage limited the utility of data captured. Approaches to increase user engagement is paramount for more robust incorporation.