Using Social Connectedness to Increase Physical Activity

A randomized controlled trial will test the effectiveness of social incentives relative to traditional incentives in promoting walking behavior among college students (N=200). Participants who are rewarded for walking together will be compared to those who are rewarded for walking even when alone. Research participants will download activity tracking apps (Fitbit app and AWARE app) that provide activity and location data. Participants will be consented and then randomized to one of two incentive schemes for walking. Over a 2-week intervention period, the standard incentive group will earn $2 per day when they meet their walking goal regardless of whether they walk alone or with others. The social incentive group will earn $1 per day when they reach their walking goal plus an additional $1 when they walk at least 2000 steps with their walking partner. The incentive scheme will be in place for 2-weeks, preceded by a 1-week baseline period and followed by a 2-week follow-up period.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Social Isolation; Activity, Motor
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Standard Incentive; Behavioral: Social Incentive

Detailed Description

The objective of the study is to test whether social incentives that encourage physical activity with another person are more effective than incentives for individual exercise. Physical inactivity and social isolation are growing epidemics linked to increased morbidity and mortality particularly among aging Americans. This research aims to address both problems by encouraging co-productive physical activities among college students. Co-productive physical activity mean anything involving physical activity that two people can do together, e.g., walking their dogs or shopping together. Additionally, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic, walking together in this study means either walking while communicating digitally or over the phone, or by physically walking together while wearing a mask, staying 6 feet apart, and following the recommendations from health professionals. A small randomized controlled trial will test the effectiveness of social incentives relative to traditional incentives in promoting walking behavior. Participants who are rewarded for walking together will be compared to those who are rewarded for walking even when alone. The results will indicate whether social incentives are more motivating than traditional incentives for walking behavior.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 172
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • Carnegie Mellon University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 18+
• Able to read and understand English-language surveys
• Own either iPhone or Android smartphones
• Willing to carry the smart phone during the study period and to respond to daily texts or emails from the study team
• Registered for the study as a dyad (friend pairs), with one member of the dyad a Carnegie Mellon University student

Exclusion Criteria:

• Contraindications for increased physical activity

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Active Comparator: Regular incentive; During the two-week intervention period, the standard incentive group will earn $2 per day when they meet their step goal, and this reward is earned regardless of whether they walk alone or with others.	Behavioral: Standard Incentive; Receiving the full monetary incentive conditional on meeting a step goal and not conditional on walking together
Experimental: Social Incentive; During the two-week intervention period, he social incentive group will earn $1 per day when they meet their step goal and an additional $1 if they walk 2,000 steps together with another study participant.	Behavioral: Social Incentive; Receiving half the monetary incentive conditional on meeting a step goal and half the monetary incentive conditional on walking together

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Mean Daily Steps Walked From Baseline Period (Week 1) to Intervention Period (Weeks 2 and 3)	Change in mean daily steps walked from baseline (week 1) to intervention period (weeks 2 and 3), as recorded on the FitBit app	week 2-3
Change in Mean Daily Steps Walked From Baseline Period (Week 1) to Follow-up Period (Weeks 4-5)	Change in mean daily steps walked from baseline to follow-up period, as recorded on the FitBit app	week 4-5
Mean Number of Days Met Daily Step Goal During Intervention Period (Weeks 2-3) Minus Mean Number of Days Met Same Level of Walking in Baseline Period (Week 1)	Mean number of days when an individual's number of steps walked was at or above daily goal during the intervention period (weeks 2 & 3) minus the mean number of days the individual's number of step's walking was at or above that same level during the baseline period (week 1)	week 2-3
Mean Number of Days Met Daily Step Goal During Follow-up Period (Weeks 4-5) Minus Mean Number of Days Met Same Level of Walking in Baseline Period (Week 1)	Mean number of days when an individual's number of steps walked was at or above daily goal during the follow-up period (weeks 4 & 5) minus the mean number of days the individual's number of step's walking was at or above that same level during the baseline period (week 1)	week 4-5
Change in Score on University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Survey Measure)	20-item scale measuring subjective feelings of loneliness and social isolation. Minimum score = 0; maximum score = 60; higher scores indicate more loneliness. We computed the difference in score from baseline (beginning of week 1) to end of study (end of week 5).	week 5

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Fraction of Days Participant Walked Together With Partner (Self Report) During Intervention Period (Weeks 2-3)	Fraction of days with self report of walking at least 2,000 steps with another participant during intervention period (weeks 2-3)	week 2-3
Fraction of Days Participant Walked Together With Partner (Self Report) During Follow-up Period (Weeks 4-5)	Fraction of days with self report of walking at least 2,000 steps with another participant during follow-up period (weeks 3-5)	week 4-5
Proportion of Days Participant Walked Together With Partner (Coded)	A machine learning (ML) algorithm will compare the walking records from the Aware app of each dyad of participants and assess whether they walked together on each day	week 2-3
Proportion of Days Participant Walked Together With Partner (Coded)	A machine learning (ML) algorithm will compare the walking records from the Aware app of each dyad of participants and assess whether they walked together on each day	week 4-5

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Carnegie Mellon University
• Collaborators: University of Virginia
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: GRETCHEN B CHAPMAN, PhD, Carnegie Mellon University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 30, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): November 25, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): January 4, 2021

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 21, 2020
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 28, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): October 5, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): March 28, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 2, 2023
• Last Verified: October 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: incentives
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY2019_00000296

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO
• IPD Plan Description: Only de-identified data will be shared

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No