The Causal Impact of Online Social Media on Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial
13 octobre 2014 mis à jour par: University of Pennsylvania
The overall objective of this research is to collect data for understanding whether messages in online environments impact fitness attitudes and behaviors.
In particular, the study aims to experimentally examine what features of online social media - promotional messaging or peer networks - impact offline fitness measures (such fitness workshop enrollment and self-reported physical activity level).
The study partners with an existing fitness program at a large northeastern university, which provides a 13-week fitness program for graduate and professional students at the university.
The program begins with a university-run eligibility assessment of specific fitness measures for all participants, who win prizes for improvements in program participation and health behavior outcomes.
The fitness program consists of semester-long series of workshops offered through the university's recreation department.
The randomized trial constructs an online social media platform for the fitness program that provides a way to send either promotion health messages or messages about peer activities to the online community.
Aperçu de l'étude
Statut
Complété
Les conditions
Description détaillée
Sedentary lifestyle among university students and young adults has become a global epidemic. Widespread use of social media is both a contributing factor, and a potential solution; however the cost-effective use of social media to promote fitness on college campuses is poorly understood. This study aims to identify what features of social media - promotional messaging or peer networks - can increase physical activity levels.
In this randomized controlled trial, participants are randomized to three conditions: basic online program for enrolling in university-run weekly fitness workshops, media condition that supplements the basic program with promotional media messages, and a social condition that replaces the media content with a network of peers. Participants are limited to graduate and professional students at a large northeastern university.
Type d'étude
Interventionnel
Inscription (Réel)
217
Phase
- N'est pas applicable
Critères de participation
Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.
Critère d'éligibilité
Âges éligibles pour étudier
- Enfant
- Adulte
- Adulte plus âgé
Accepte les volontaires sains
Oui
Sexes éligibles pour l'étude
Tout
La description
Inclusion Criteria:
- Graduate and professional students at a large northeastern university.
- Logging in to the study website at least once after online registration
Exclusion Criteria:
- Inability to perform physical activities (e.g., broken limbs), and underlying diseases that were likely to affect participant safety. Ineligibility is determined by the Department of Recreation and Health Services at the university.
Plan d'étude
Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.
Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?
Détails de conception
- Objectif principal: Science basique
- Répartition: Randomisé
- Modèle interventionnel: Affectation parallèle
- Masquage: Double
Armes et Interventions
Groupe de participants / Bras |
Intervention / Traitement |
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Comparateur actif: Basic fitness program
The control condition provides study participants with online tools for enrolling in offline fitness workshops offered by the university's recreation department and recording their progress in the program.
All fitness workshops are pre-programmed in an online calendar.
Upon clicking a workshop, participants can read a detailed description and register for it directly on the calendar.
The registration then triggers a confirmation email sent to the participant immediately and a reminder email 12 hours before the workshop starts.
In addition, an online tracking tool is built that participants can use to keep a daily journal of their health activities and fitness status.
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Participants can register workshops online and track program participation.
Autres noms:
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Expérimental: Media-assisted fitness program
The media condition evaluates the effects of informational and motivational messages on physical activity by supplementing the basic program tools with promotional media, including: "high arousal" videos encouraging physical activity, real-time email notifications about upcoming fitness workshops, and informational graphics with exercise tips and motivational messages.
In the media condition, participants receive two videos on the website and one informational graphic that encourage physical activity on a weekly basis.
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Participants can register workshops online, track program participation, and receive promotional health messages online.
Autres noms:
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Expérimental: Social network-assisted fitness program
The social condition, by contrast, omits the media content.
Instead, the basic program is supplemented with a network of four to six anonymous "health peers," composed of other participants of the program.
Within the program website, each participant is able to see their peers' basic profile information, as well as information about their peers' progress in the program, and real-time notifications about their peers' completion of program activities.
These networks do not provide any added incentives or additional content to promote physical activity, nor can participants directly communicate with, or "message" their peers through the website.
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Participants can register workshops online and track program participation.
Participants are put into anonymous online social networks and receive real-time activity updates from 4-6 peers.
Autres noms:
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Que mesure l'étude ?
Principaux critères de jugement
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
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Fitness workshop enrollment
Délai: Up to 3 months
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Participants' enrollment in fitness workshops is recorded when participants digitally confirm their workshop registration.
Workshop instructors confirm the attendance of enrolled participants.
Enrollment is assessed up to 3 months from date of randomization.
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Up to 3 months
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Mesures de résultats secondaires
Mesure des résultats |
Description de la mesure |
Délai |
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Change from baseline in participants' self-reported physical activity level
Délai: Baseline and 3 months
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At the baseline and post-program (3 months) online surveys, participants answer the question: "On how many of the past 7 days did you participate in physical activity for at least 30 minutes that did not make you sweat or breathe hard, such as fast walking, slow bicycling, and skating?"
Responses to the question range from 0 to 7.
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Baseline and 3 months
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Collaborateurs et enquêteurs
C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.
Parrainer
Les enquêteurs
- Chercheur principal: Damon M. Centola, Ph.D, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Publications et liens utiles
La personne responsable de la saisie des informations sur l'étude fournit volontairement ces publications. Il peut s'agir de tout ce qui concerne l'étude.
Publications générales
- Valle CG, Tate DF, Mayer DK, Allicock M, Cai J. A randomized trial of a Facebook-based physical activity intervention for young adult cancer survivors. J Cancer Surviv. 2013 Sep;7(3):355-68. doi: 10.1007/s11764-013-0279-5. Epub 2013 Mar 27.
- Bennett GG, Glasgow RE. The delivery of public health interventions via the Internet: actualizing their potential. Annu Rev Public Health. 2009;30:273-92. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.031308.100235.
- Cavallo DN, Tate DF, Ries AV, Brown JD, DeVellis RF, Ammerman AS. A social media-based physical activity intervention: a randomized controlled trial. Am J Prev Med. 2012 Nov;43(5):527-32. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.07.019.
- Cobb NK, Graham AL. Health behavior interventions in the age of facebook. Am J Prev Med. 2012 Nov;43(5):571-2. doi: 10.1016/j.amepre.2012.08.001. No abstract available.
- Eysenbach G, Powell J, Englesakis M, Rizo C, Stern A. Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions. BMJ. 2004 May 15;328(7449):1166. doi: 10.1136/bmj.328.7449.1166.
- Centola D. The spread of behavior in an online social network experiment. Science. 2010 Sep 3;329(5996):1194-7. doi: 10.1126/science.1185231.
- Centola D. An experimental study of homophily in the adoption of health behavior. Science. 2011 Dec 2;334(6060):1269-72. doi: 10.1126/science.1207055.
- Korda H, Itani Z. Harnessing social media for health promotion and behavior change. Health Promot Pract. 2013 Jan;14(1):15-23. doi: 10.1177/1524839911405850. Epub 2011 May 10.
- Strecher V. Internet methods for delivering behavioral and health-related interventions (eHealth). Annu Rev Clin Psychol. 2007;3:53-76. doi: 10.1146/annurev.clinpsy.3.022806.091428.
- Zhang J, Brackbill D, Yang S, Centola D. Efficacy and causal mechanism of an online social media intervention to increase physical activity: Results of a randomized controlled trial. Prev Med Rep. 2015 Aug 13;2:651-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pmedr.2015.08.005. eCollection 2015.
Dates d'enregistrement des études
Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.
Dates principales de l'étude
Début de l'étude
1 janvier 2014
Achèvement primaire (Réel)
1 mai 2014
Achèvement de l'étude (Réel)
1 mai 2014
Dates d'inscription aux études
Première soumission
7 octobre 2014
Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
13 octobre 2014
Première publication (Estimation)
17 octobre 2014
Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude
Dernière mise à jour publiée (Estimation)
17 octobre 2014
Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité
13 octobre 2014
Dernière vérification
1 octobre 2014
Plus d'information
Termes liés à cette étude
Autres numéros d'identification d'étude
- 819455
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