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Tobias Kowatsch: Leveraging Influencers for Digital Health Engagement
Jan 6, 2026, 14:53

Tobias Kowatsch: Leveraging Influencers for Digital Health Engagement

Tobias Kowatsch, CDHI Core Director for Precision Digital Therapeutics at Centre for Digital Health Interventions, shared a post on LinkedIn about a paper published in JMIR Publications:

“I’m happy to share results from our recent study exploring how influencer partnerships and digital health interventions can potentially help reduce socioeconomic inequalities in health: ‘Leveraging Influencers to Reach and Engage Vulnerable Individuals With a Digital Health Intervention.’

Noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) disproportionately affect people with lower socioeconomic status, yet many digital health interventions still struggle with the most fundamental challenge: how to reach and engage those who could benefit most.

In this quasi-experimental field study, we partnered with 8 influencers (25 streams; 12’667 viewers) to promote three versions of a digital stress management intervention (slow-paced breathing) that differed in design features (e.g., biofeedback, gamification and storytelling). Recruitment generated 220 downloads, with an average reach ratio of 16.2% (and substantial variation by design). While early interaction was promising, overall completion remained low, highlighting that reach alone does not solve engagement and adherence barriers.

As this was only a first step, we invite the digital health research community to join forces on this critical question, which still needs more compelling answers: How can we reach and sustainably engage vulnerable individuals in their everyday lives, at scale, and with interventions that truly fit their context?

A big congrats to all authors Marcia Nißen, Samira Harperink, Priyam Joshi, Dr. Anja Bischof, Dr. Theresa Schachner, Yanick Lukic, Fabian Schneider, Prabhakaran Santhanam, Florian Wangenheim, and Joseph Ollier.

The link to the Open Access article is provided here.”

Tobias Kowatsch

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