A Smartphone-based Intervention to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Low Educated Working Young Adults

The aim of this smartphone-based intervention study is to determine whether a newly developed app is effective in promoting an active lifestyle in low educated working young adults.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Physical Activity
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: smartphone based intervention with Active Coach app

Detailed Description

A stepwise approach was used to develop a new native Android smartphone app (Active Coach). This app aims to promote an active lifestyle (through physical activity and active transport) in low educated working young adults. The development of this app is based on theory, evidence and user's experiences. The app focuses on four determinants (knowledge, attitude (perceived benefits and perceived barriers), social support and self-efficacy) and includes several behavioral change techniques (self-monitoring, goal-setting, feedback on behavior, review behavior goals, instruction on how to perform the behavior, information about health consequences, enhancing network linkages and prompts/cues). Furthermore, the app works in combinations with a wearable activity tracker (Fitbit Charge) to track users activity behavior.

For the smartphone-based intervention, 120 low educated working young adults are being recruited via purposeful convenience sampling though companies and employers. Participants can not have any medical conditions that prevent them from being physically active and they need to own an Android smartphone. Fitbit Charge activity trackers will be provided. The participants will be randomly divided in the intervention group or the standard information control group. The intervention period will be nine weeks. At the beginning and the end of the intervention period, physical activity levels will be objectively measured with accelerometers. Follow-up measurements will be conducted 12 weeks after the end of the intervention period.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 130
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Belgium
  • Ghent, Belgium, 9000
    • Ghent University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years to 28 years (ADULT)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• between 18 and 28 years old
• low educated (maximum secondary school, no higher education (university or college)
• employed
• dutch speaking
• owning an Android smartphone

Exclusion Criteria:

• being very physically active (already reaching the recommended 30 minutes of physical activity a day)

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: PREVENTION
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Interventional Model: PARALLEL
• Masking: NONE

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention group; smartphone based intervention with Active Coach app: participants in the intervention group will use a newly developed smartphone app in combination with a Fitbit Charge activity tracker for 9 weeks. The app aims to promote an active lifestyle.	Behavioral: smartphone based intervention with Active Coach app
No Intervention: control group; participants in the control groups only receive a flyer with standard information about an active lifestyle

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
change in physical activity: objective	physical activity will be objectively measured by accelerometers (Actigraph)	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)
change in physical activity: self-reported	physical activity will be measured via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ, long version)	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in perceived benefits towards physical activity and active transport	benefits will be measured via fifteen items with a five-point answer format	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)
Change in perceived barriers towards physical activity and active transport	barriers will be measured via fifteen items with a five-point answer format	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)
Change in social support towards physical activity and active transport	social support will be measured via nine items with a five-point answer format	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)
Change in self-efficacy towards physical activity and active transport	self-efficacy will be measured via eight items with a five-point answer format	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)
Change in knowledge towards physical activity and active transport	knowledge will be measured via one item with a six-point answer format	The outcome will be measured at baseline (before start intervention), posttest (9 weeks after the start of the intervention) and follow-up (12 weeks after the posttest)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University Ghent
• Collaborators: Fund for Scientific Research, Flanders, Belgium
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Dorien Simons, University Ghent

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Simons D, De Bourdeaudhuij I, Clarys P, De Cocker K, Vandelanotte C, Deforche B. Effect and Process Evaluation of a Smartphone App to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Lower Educated Working Young Adults: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Mhealth Uhealth. 2018 Aug 24;6(8):e10003. doi: 10.2196/10003.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 12, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 17, 2017
• Study Completion (Actual): February 17, 2017

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 6, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 26, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): October 28, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): August 21, 2017
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 16, 2017
• Last Verified: August 1, 2017

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; smartphone; mHealth; intervention; application; active transport
• Other Study ID Numbers: 11U8114N

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO