PACIS 2020 Proceedings

Abstract

In order to help patients manage their health, the developers of mobile health Apps have designed a gamification function to encourage patients to engaging in self-health management. This paper mainly examines the role of two important gamification factors, i.e., the strength of competition and the frequency of social interaction, on patients’ self-health management, as well as investigating the moderating effect of patients’ age and gender difference. To test our research questions, this paper designed a quasi-experiment with combination of propensity score matching (PSM) and difference-in-differences analysis (D-in-D). We found that the effect of social interaction on female patients is stronger than that on male patients, and the effect of competition on male patients is stronger than that on female patients. Moreover, our research results pointed out that the effect of social interaction on old patients is stronger than that on young patients, and the effect of competition on young patients is stronger than that on old patients. The findings of our research contribute to gamification and self-health management literature, as well as providing a new insight on practical implications and related suggestions for the developers of mobile health Apps.

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