Way to Be Active V (Framing vs. Forgiveness)

March 28, 2017 updated by: University of Pennsylvania

A Randomized Trial of Behavioral Economic Interventions to Improve Physical Activities: Framing vs. Forgiveness

Employers are increasingly looking for opportunities to motivate sedentary employees to become more physically active. Workplace walking programs have had mixed success and typically show most improvement among participants that are already fairly active at a baseline. The goal of this study is to determine whether a financial incentive program can motivate sedentary employees to increase the number of steps they walk per day to meet a minimum threshold.

The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. Secondary outcomes will include the average steps walked per day.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

288

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Pennsylvania
      • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, 19104
        • University of Pennsylvania

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years to 100 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Age greater than 18.
  • Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Pregnant or lactating
  • Participating in another physical activity study

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Other
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Feedback 50th Percentile
At the end of each week, participants will be told (by email or text, based on the participant's preference) the team's average daily step count for the previous week based on all 7 days. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm. If the team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, the team will be eligible for the weekly lottery.
Behavioral: Financial Incentive
For the first three months of the study, a weekly lottery will be held. Teams whose average daily step count for that week is ≥ 7000 will be eligible to collect their lottery winnings. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.
Behavioral: Daily Feedback
Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
Experimental: Feedback 75th Percentile
At the end of each week, participants will be told (by email or text, based on the participant's preference) the team's average daily step count for the previous week based on all 7 days. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm. If the team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, the team will be eligible for the weekly lottery.
Behavioral: Financial Incentive
For the first three months of the study, a weekly lottery will be held. Teams whose average daily step count for that week is ≥ 7000 will be eligible to collect their lottery winnings. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.
Behavioral: Daily Feedback
Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
Behavioral: Feedback compared to 75th percentile
Experimental: Feedback 50th Percentile + Forgiveness
At the end of each week, participants will be told (by email or text, based on the participant's preference) the average team's average daily step count for the previous week based on the best 5 of 7 days. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm. If the team's average daily step count (best 5 of 7 days) is ≥ 7000 steps, the team will be eligible for the weekly lottery.
Behavioral: Financial Incentive
For the first three months of the study, a weekly lottery will be held. Teams whose average daily step count for that week is ≥ 7000 will be eligible to collect their lottery winnings. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.
Behavioral: Daily Feedback
Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
Behavioral: Forgiveness
Experimental: Feedback 75th Percentile + Forgiveness
At the end of each week, participants will be told (by email or text, based on the participant's preference) the team's average daily step count for the previous week based on the best 5 of 7 days. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm. If the team's average daily step count (best 5 of 7 days) is ≥ 7000 steps, the team will be eligible for the weekly lottery.
Behavioral: Financial Incentive
For the first three months of the study, a weekly lottery will be held. Teams whose average daily step count for that week is ≥ 7000 will be eligible to collect their lottery winnings. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal.
Behavioral: Daily Feedback
Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
Behavioral: Feedback compared to 75th percentile
Behavioral: Forgiveness

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Proportion of days an individual walks 7000 steps or more
Time Frame: End of study - 6 months after enrollment
The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives.
End of study - 6 months after enrollment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Average number of steps per day and week
Time Frame: End of study- 6 months after enrollment
Secondary outcomes include average number of steps per day and week during the intervention (first 3 months) and follow-up (second 3 months) periods.
End of study- 6 months after enrollment

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in physical activity
Time Frame: End of study- 6 months after enrollment
Changes in physical activity as determined by validated surveys.
End of study- 6 months after enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Pennsylvania

Collaborators

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Kevin M Volpp, MD, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
  • Study Director: Mitesh Patel, MD, MBA, University of Pennsylvania

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

January 1, 2014

Primary Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

October 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 20, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 7, 2014

First Posted (Estimate)

January 8, 2014

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2017

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 28, 2017

Last Verified

March 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 819370

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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