The Causal Impact of Online Social Media on Physical Activity: A Randomized Controlled Trial
13. oktober 2014 oppdatert av: 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.
Studieoversikt
Status
Fullført
Forhold
Detaljert beskrivelse
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.
Studietype
Intervensjonell
Registrering (Faktiske)
217
Fase
- Ikke aktuelt
Deltakelseskriterier
Forskere ser etter personer som passer til en bestemt beskrivelse, kalt kvalifikasjonskriterier. Noen eksempler på disse kriteriene er en persons generelle helsetilstand eller tidligere behandlinger.
Kvalifikasjonskriterier
Alder som er kvalifisert for studier
- Barn
- Voksen
- Eldre voksen
Tar imot friske frivillige
Ja
Kjønn som er kvalifisert for studier
Alle
Beskrivelse
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.
Studieplan
Denne delen gir detaljer om studieplanen, inkludert hvordan studien er utformet og hva studien måler.
Hvordan er studiet utformet?
Designdetaljer
- Primært formål: Grunnvitenskap
- Tildeling: Randomisert
- Intervensjonsmodell: Parallell tildeling
- Masking: Dobbelt
Våpen og intervensjoner
Deltakergruppe / Arm |
Intervensjon / Behandling |
|---|---|
|
Aktiv komparator: 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.
|
Participants can register workshops online and track program participation.
Andre navn:
|
|
Eksperimentell: 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.
|
Participants can register workshops online, track program participation, and receive promotional health messages online.
Andre navn:
|
|
Eksperimentell: 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.
|
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.
Andre navn:
|
Hva måler studien?
Primære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Fitness workshop enrollment
Tidsramme: Up to 3 months
|
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.
|
Up to 3 months
|
Sekundære resultatmål
Resultatmål |
Tiltaksbeskrivelse |
Tidsramme |
|---|---|---|
|
Change from baseline in participants' self-reported physical activity level
Tidsramme: Baseline and 3 months
|
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.
|
Baseline and 3 months
|
Samarbeidspartnere og etterforskere
Det er her du vil finne personer og organisasjoner som er involvert i denne studien.
Sponsor
Etterforskere
- Hovedetterforsker: Damon M. Centola, Ph.D, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania
Publikasjoner og nyttige lenker
Den som er ansvarlig for å legge inn informasjon om studien leverer frivillig disse publikasjonene. Disse kan handle om alt relatert til studiet.
Generelle publikasjoner
- 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.
Studierekorddatoer
Disse datoene sporer fremdriften for innsending av studieposter og sammendragsresultater til ClinicalTrials.gov. Studieposter og rapporterte resultater gjennomgås av National Library of Medicine (NLM) for å sikre at de oppfyller spesifikke kvalitetskontrollstandarder før de legges ut på det offentlige nettstedet.
Studer hoveddatoer
Studiestart
1. januar 2014
Primær fullføring (Faktiske)
1. mai 2014
Studiet fullført (Faktiske)
1. mai 2014
Datoer for studieregistrering
Først innsendt
7. oktober 2014
Først innsendt som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
13. oktober 2014
Først lagt ut (Anslag)
17. oktober 2014
Oppdateringer av studieposter
Sist oppdatering lagt ut (Anslag)
17. oktober 2014
Siste oppdatering sendt inn som oppfylte QC-kriteriene
13. oktober 2014
Sist bekreftet
1. oktober 2014
Mer informasjon
Begreper knyttet til denne studien
Andre studie-ID-numre
- 819455
Denne informasjonen ble hentet direkte fra nettstedet clinicaltrials.gov uten noen endringer. Hvis du har noen forespørsler om å endre, fjerne eller oppdatere studiedetaljene dine, vennligst kontakt register@clinicaltrials.gov. Så snart en endring er implementert på clinicaltrials.gov, vil denne også bli oppdatert automatisk på nettstedet vårt. .