Sedentary Employees
Conditions
Keywords
Sedentary, Behavioral Economic Intervention, Team Studies, Financial Incentives, Workplace Wellness, Team Incentives
Brief summary
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. Our primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. We will assess outcomes 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.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALIndividual Incentives
BEHAVIORALTeam Incentives
BEHAVIORALIndividual plus Team Incentives
Sponsors
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
University of Pennsylvania
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Subject)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 100 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 1\. We will use a minimum age of 18 to ensure all individuals are legally able to consent. * 2\. Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps
Exclusion criteria
* Conditions that would make participation infeasible: 1a. Inability to consent 1b. Illiteracy and/or inability to speak, read, and write English 1c. Participation in another research study 2. Conditions that would make participation unsafe: 2a. Current treatment for drug or alcohol use 2b. Consumption of at least 5 alcoholic drinks per day 2c. Myocardial infarction or stroke within the past 6 months 2d. Current addiction to prescription medicines or street drugs 2e. Serious psychiatric diagnoses (e.g., severe major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia) 2f. Pregnant or currently breastfeeding 2g. Metastatic cancer 2h. Unstable medical conditions that would likely prevent the participant from completing the study
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | End of study- 6 months of after enrollment | Our primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. We will assess outcomes for 3 months (13 weeks) with the interventions and 3 months (13 weeks) without intervention during the follow-up period. We will use all available data and treat missing as true missing data points. Secondary outcomes will include the average steps walked per day. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | End of study- 6 months after enrollment | Secondary outcomes include average number of steps per day during intervention period and the follow-up period. |
Participant flow
Participants by arm
| Arm | Count |
|---|---|
| Control Participants receive either an email or text message daily (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved the 7000 step goal during the previous day. Each participant will also be notified as to how many of their teammates reached the goal the previous day. Control Arm will receive no financial incentive. | 68 |
| Individual Participants receive either an email or text message daily (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved the 7000 step goal during the previous day. Each participant will also be notified as to how many of their teammates reached the goal the previous day. Every day one team from the arm will be chosen at random as the winning team. Each participant on the winning team receives $50 if that participant met the step goal during the prior day.
Individual Incentives | 80 |
| Team Participants receive either an email or text message daily (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved the 7000 step goal during the previous day. Each participant will also be notified as to how many of their teammates reached the goal the previous day. Every day one team from the arm will be chosen at random as the winning team. Each participant on the winning team receives $50 only if all four team members met the step goal during the prior day.
Team Incentives | 76 |
| Individual Plus Team Participants receive either an email or text message daily (based on the participant's preference) stating whether the participant achieved the 7000 step goal during the previous day. Each participant will also be notified as to how many of their teammates reached the goal the previous day. Every day one team from the arm will be chosen at random as the winning team. Each participant on the winning team receives $20 if the participant met the step goal during the prior day the participants met their own goal. Each participant will also receive an additional $10 for every one of the other three team members that also met the goal.
Individual plus Team Incentives | 80 |
| Total | 304 |
Withdrawals & dropouts
| Period | Reason | FG000 | FG001 | FG002 | FG003 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Follow-Up Period (13 Weeks) | No longer interested | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 |
| Intervention Period (13 Weeks) | No longer interested | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
Baseline characteristics
| Characteristic | Individual | Team | Individual Plus Team | Total | Control |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age, Continuous | 39.3 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.2 | 38.7 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.2 | 41.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.8 | 40.6 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.3 | 43.2 years STANDARD_DEVIATION 10 |
| Annual Household Income $50,000 to $100,000 | 34 Participants | 38 Participants | 34 Participants | 130 Participants | 24 Participants |
| Annual Household Income Greater than $100,000 | 18 Participants | 21 Participants | 30 Participants | 96 Participants | 27 Participants |
| Annual Household Income Less than $50,000 | 21 Participants | 13 Participants | 11 Participants | 54 Participants | 9 Participants |
| Annual Household Income Unknown | 7 Participants | 4 Participants | 5 Participants | 24 Participants | 8 Participants |
| Education College graduate | 50 Participants | 44 Participants | 52 Participants | 191 Participants | 45 Participants |
| Education Less than college | 7 Participants | 6 Participants | 7 Participants | 22 Participants | 2 Participants |
| Education Some college | 23 Participants | 26 Participants | 21 Participants | 90 Participants | 20 Participants |
| Education Unknown | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 1 Participants |
| iPhone smartphone | 47 Participants | 43 Participants | 55 Participants | 185 Participants | 40 Participants |
| Marital Status Married | 29 Participants | 32 Participants | 41 Participants | 137 Participants | 35 Participants |
| Marital Status Other | 8 Participants | 11 Participants | 13 Participants | 37 Participants | 5 Participants |
| Marital Status Single | 43 Participants | 33 Participants | 26 Participants | 130 Participants | 28 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity African American non-Hispanic | 37 Participants | 23 Participants | 19 Participants | 101 Participants | 22 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity Hispanic | 4 Participants | 3 Participants | 3 Participants | 15 Participants | 5 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity Missing | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 0 Participants | 1 Participants | 0 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity Other non-Hispanic | 9 Participants | 6 Participants | 8 Participants | 26 Participants | 3 Participants |
| Race/Ethnicity White non-Hispanic | 30 Participants | 43 Participants | 50 Participants | 161 Participants | 38 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Female | 62 Participants | 65 Participants | 57 Participants | 235 Participants | 51 Participants |
| Sex: Female, Male Male | 18 Participants | 11 Participants | 23 Participants | 69 Participants | 17 Participants |
Adverse events
| Event type | EG000 affected / at risk | EG001 affected / at risk | EG002 affected / at risk | EG003 affected / at risk |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| deaths Total, all-cause mortality | 0 / 68 | 0 / 80 | 0 / 76 | 0 / 80 |
| other Total, other adverse events | 0 / 68 | 0 / 80 | 0 / 76 | 0 / 80 |
| serious Total, serious adverse events | 0 / 68 | 0 / 80 | 0 / 76 | 0 / 80 |
Outcome results
Primary
Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved
Our primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. We will assess outcomes for 3 months (13 weeks) with the interventions and 3 months (13 weeks) without intervention during the follow-up period. We will use all available data and treat missing as true missing data points. Secondary outcomes will include the average steps walked per day.
Time frame: End of study- 6 months of after enrollment
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Intervention Period | 0.176 Proportion of participant-days |
| Control | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Follow Up Period | 0.142 Proportion of participant-days |
| Individual | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Follow Up Period | 0.187 Proportion of participant-days |
| Individual | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Intervention Period | 0.254 Proportion of participant-days |
| Team | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Intervention Period | 0.173 Proportion of participant-days |
| Team | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Follow Up Period | 0.152 Proportion of participant-days |
| Individual Plus Team | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Intervention Period | 0.350 Proportion of participant-days |
| Individual Plus Team | Proportion of Days a Minimum Activity of 7000 Steps or More is Achieved | Follow Up Period | 0.235 Proportion of participant-days |
Secondary
Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention
Secondary outcomes include average number of steps per day during intervention period and the follow-up period.
Time frame: End of study- 6 months after enrollment
| Arm | Measure | Group | Value (MEAN) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Control | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Intervention Period (3 months with incentives) | 3929.1 steps per day |
| Control | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Follow Up Period (3 months without incentives) | 3619.1 steps per day |
| Individual | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Follow Up Period (3 months without incentives) | 3957.8 steps per day |
| Individual | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Intervention Period (3 months with incentives) | 4516.4 steps per day |
| Team | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Intervention Period (3 months with incentives) | 3929.6 steps per day |
| Team | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Follow Up Period (3 months without incentives) | 3713.1 steps per day |
| Individual Plus Team | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Intervention Period (3 months with incentives) | 5280.3 steps per day |
| Individual Plus Team | Average Number of Steps Per Day During Intervention | Follow Up Period (3 months without incentives) | 4616.0 steps per day |