In January an exciting new behaviour change app was launched across the County by Buckinghamshire Council’s Public Health team – BetterPoints Bucks.
What is BetterPoints Bucks?
BetterPoints is a behaviour change programme, underpinned by academic research, that incentivises and rewards people for making positive changes to their lives. The Public Health team at Buckinghamshire Council has commissioned the programme for 2 years and has taken a holistic approach to help Buckinghamshire residents lead better, healthier lives.
Points can be earned for making positive changes, from being active and giving up smoking, to accessing health & wellbeing sessions across the County. Once individuals have built up their points, they can exchange these for rewards (discounts in national and local shops, gift vouchers), entry into prize draws or donate to local charities.
How is the programme going so far?
Since the launch in January, there are currently 950 registered users, with 33% of them coming from within the Buckinghamshire levelling up wards. Current engagement of the app is 40%, which compared to the industry standard for health and fitness apps after 30 days being 8.5%, shows great uptake.
One of the elements within the app is bus rewards when using public transport in a bid to reduce the number of single occupancy car journeys within the county. To date there are 489 users benefitting from these rewards, meaning a whopping 4,333Kg of CO2 emissions have been saved!
Prize draws are offered within the app, whereby lucky individuals can win free memberships to local leisure facilities, free swimming lessons or even win shopping vouchers to support them in the current climate.
A monthly update is available to keep engagement consistent across all involved or interested in the programme, if you wish to sign up to receive it, please do so here.
What is next for BetterPoints?
We are keen to engage with local businesses and for them to come onboard the programme to offer local rewards such as, vouchers, discounts or prize draws. There is no cost to get involved but the rewards need to align with healthy behaviours being adhered to by residents. For more information on how businesses can get involved, please contact Jess directly by emailing: jess.keeley@buckinghamshire.gov.uk
Customer Feedback
Our Head of Charity Services, Helen, has been testing the app out and adds:
‘I have really enjoyed using the Better Points app, since downloading it in February. One of my New Years resolutions was to get more active and to walk more, so the Bucks Council Better Points scheme couldn’t have come at a better time. I downloaded the free app onto my smart phone and I use it to track all my daily activities. It does help me to stay motivated with push notifications letting me know when I have earned points. I am currently saving my points to exchange for a retail shopping voucher, but it’s great to have the option to donate my points to local charities too.’
