3 Months without the car in Bielefeld, Germany- a mixed-method study exploring individual motivation to participate in a municipal intervention.

BACKGROUND: Climate change is a major public health issue worldwide. To achieve climate targets and reduce morbidity, a paradigm shift in individual behavior e.g., in mobility, is needed. Municipal interventions can motivate individuals to engage in climate-friendly behavior through different psychological mechanisms. In order for successful interventions, it is necessary to gain better insight from study participants and their reasons for participating in mobility projects (e.g., motivational aspects). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A mixed-methods design was used to evaluate reasons and characteristics of people for participating in an municipal mobility intervention. The quantitative sub-study assesses socioeconomic characteristics, environmental awareness and perceived stress. The qualitative sub-study explores motivation for participation and change, perspectives on car replacement and reasons for car use. RESULTS: Results show that participants (n = 42) are rather high educated and show medium environmental awareness. Participants of the qualitative study part (n = 15) were motiviated to reduce car use already before the intervention and used the intervention as starting point or trial phase. CONCLUSIONS: Urban intervention projects with fitted recruitment strategies and better insights from study participants with the aim to motivate individuals to engage in climate-friendly behavior can help to strengthen sustainability and public health.

Effectiveness of gamified digital interventions in mental health prevention and health promotion among adults: a scoping review.

BACKGROUND: Though still a young field of research, gamified digital interventions have demonstrated potential in exerting a favourable impact on health and overall well-being. With the increasing use of the internet and digital devices, the integration of game elements presents novel opportunities for preventing mental disorders and enhancing mental health. Hence, this review aims to assess the effectiveness of gamified interventions focusing on preventing mental disorders or promoting mental health among adults. METHODS: Based on a scoping review across four databases (MEDLINE, Embase, PsycInfo and Web of Science), 7,953 studies were initially identified. After removing duplicates and screening titles, abstracts and full texts, 16 studies were identified as suitable for inclusion in a narrative synthesis of findings. We included interventional studies encompassing an intervention and a control group aiming to investigate the effectiveness of the use of gamified digital mental health interventions and the use of gamified digital elements. RESULTS: Overall, positive effects of gamified interventions on mental health-related outcomes were identified. In particular, beneficial consequences for psychological well-being and depressive symptoms were observed in all studies. However, further outcomes, such as resilience, anxiety, stress or satisfaction with life, showed heterogenous findings. Most game elements used were reward, sensation and progress, whilst the quantity of elements was not consistent and, therefore, no substantiated conclusion regarding the (optimal) quantity or composition of game elements can be drawn. Further, the outcomes, measurements and analyses differed greatly between the 16 included studies making comparisons difficult. CONCLUSION: In summary, this review demonstrates the potential of integrating digital game elements on mental health and well-being with still a great gap of research. A taxonomy is needed to adequately address relevant game elements in the field of mental health promotion and prevention of mental disorders. Therefore, future studies should explicitly focus on the mechanisms of effect and apply rigorous study designs.

Promising behavior change techniques for climate-friendly behavior change - a systematic review.

Introduction: Besides societal and governmental actions to mitigate greenhouse gases, individual behavioral changes are also urgently needed to limit global temperature rise. However, these individual changes have proven to be difficult to achieve in the general population. Methods: We conducted a systematic review in five electronic databases with the aim of systematically depicting the content of interventions that promote climate-friendly behavior in individuals and households in high- and upper-middle-income countries. Results: We included 25 studies. The analyses included identification of the used Behavior Change Techniques (BCTs) and comparison of their promise ratio. Across our three outcome categories energy consumption, water consumption, and mobility the most frequently used BCT categories are not the ones that are most promising in terms of behavior change. Discussion: Based on these results, our recommendation for climate change mitigation interventions is to include components that provide concrete instructions on how to perform the desired behavior (shaping knowledge), setting goals and commitments (goals and planning), substituting undesired behavior, and practicing desired behavior (repetition and substitution). Other reviews with similar aims use different wordings, definitions, or degrees of detail in their intervention component labelling which makes it difficult to compare the results. We recommend to use a standardized classification system, like the BCT taxonomy in combination with the promise ratio, which this study has shown to be a suitable tool to classify applied intervention techniques and give an indication of successful techniques.

The untapped potential of Games for Health in times of crises. A critical reflection.

Given its promising role in public health to address hard to reach population groups, game-based interventions (i.e., Games for Health, G4H) have experienced growing interest in recent years. Therefore, it is surprising that they have played only a minor role during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, the aim of this paper is to reflect the opportunities and challenges of G4H especially during the pandemic but also with regard to future health crises. As commercial video games (i.e., those that primarily aim to entertain its users) were often used to deal with the containment measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, we call for greater cooperation with commercial game makers to distribute health-related messages via entertainment games. With regard to G4H we see a need to (i) strengthen the intervention theory underlying game-based applications, (ii) to enhance the appeal of games in order to maintain the interest of users in the long term, and (iii) to improve the evidence base using appropriate study designs. Finally, we argue for (iv) greater user involvement, both in terms of developing game-based approaches and as co-researchers in solving complex health problems.

Risk Perception of the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic: Influencing Factors and Implications for Environmental Health Crises.

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and climate change are two simultaneously occurring large scale environmental health crises. This provides an opportunity to compare the risk perception of both crises in the population. In particular, whether experiencing the acute pandemic sensitizes people to the risks of ongoing climate change. METHODS: Panel participants answered a web-based questionnaire. The risk perception of SARS-CoV-2 and influencing factors were assessed. Differences of risk perception dimensions regarding SARS-CoV-2 and climate change were analyzed as well as associations between dimensions. RESULTS: The results show that an economic impact by the pandemic is associated with more dimensions of SARS-CoV-2 risk perception than an experienced health impact. Moreover, dimensions of risk perception of the pandemic and climate change are perceived differently. Furthermore, the affective dimension of pandemic risk perception is significantly associated with all dimensions of climate change risk perception. CONCLUSIONS: Emotional-based coping with the risks of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with risk perception of climate change as well as various factors that shape the individuals' risk perception. It is currently necessary and will be increasingly necessary in the future to solve coexisting crises, not selectively, but in a common context within the framework of a social-ecological and economic transformation.

Urbanicity-Perspectives from Neuroscience and Public Health: A Scoping Review.

Urban residency is associated with exposure to environmental factors, which can influence health in many ways. Neuroscientific research, as well as Public Health research, aim towards broadening evidence in the field of Urban Health. However, it is unclear whether the association between urban living and mental illnesses is causal rather than explainable by other selective effects. This review seeks to gather information on the current evidence regarding urban living and neurological outcomes to demonstrate how Public Health and Neuroscience could complement each other in the field of Urban Health. A scoping review was conducted in four electronic databases according to the PRISMA-statement guidelines. 25 empirical studies were included. Outcomes such as schizophrenia and psychotic disorders, social and cognitive functioning were scrutinised. Evidence was found for alteration of brain functioning and brain structure. Most studies researching cognitive functioning or cognitive decline displayed possible protective effects of urban living compared to rural living. The different study designs in Public Health and Neuroscience could profit from each other. Although the comparability of studies is limited by the inconsistent assessments of urbanity. Synergies and potentials to combine aspects of Public Health and Neuroscience in the field of Urban Health to improve population health became apparent.