University of Kentucky finds lasting lifestyle changes among thousands of employees in yearlong wellness program.

Overview

University of Kentucky is considered a leader in population health. UKY uses MoveSpring as part of their year-round Be Well, Eat Well, Move Well employee wellness program. They needed an easy-to-use platform to track physical activity for thousands of employees as part of the Move Well initiative and MoveSpring was able to provide just what they were looking for.

Most of UKY’s wellness initiatives included programs like smoking cessation coaching, nutrition counseling, and biometric screens. Amidst these other offerings, MoveSpring stands out as one of the only parts of their wellness program that had a fast and easy onboarding process while also providing a fun experience to participants with a strong focus on community.

Key features used

single-use eligibility

This eligibility feature helped admins maintain control over who could access their MoveSpring programs. With single-use eligibility files, access was only given to eligible employees and their spouses.

3-tiered target challenges

Users were able to select the challenge goal that aligned with their activity level, enabling them to compete with other individuals in their same activity bracket. This provided motivation and and challenge for all levels of users.

group target

The group target challenge mode provided UKY with a collaborative and community-building experience. Users would work together toward a larger, cumulative goal.

chat

Admins posted in group chats under the username 'ukyadmin' to provide updates and motivation throughout challenges. Users utilized chat to cheer each other on, especially during the group target challenge while everyone was working toward a larger goal.

content

UKY admins used their content module to push various types of information out to their users and keep them engaged with the app. They promoted upcoming 5k races, announced prizes for different challenge goals, and educated users on various health and fitness topics.

Results

UKY’s Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion conducted a study using MoveSpring activity data to determine the impact of the challenge platform on participant physical activity.

They looked at the data of 2,200 participants’ physical activity before, during and after the challenges. UKY found that MoveSpring’s challenges increased physical activity among participants, especially among individuals who started out with lower activity levels. Those averaging 6,000 steps a day or less saw up to a 46% increase in physical activity during the challenge. According to the study findings, “this effect persisted following the challenge, potentially indicated a longer lasting lifestyle change.”