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Way to Be Active IV (Framing vs Incentives)

A Randomized Trial of Behavioral Economic Interventions to Improve Physical Activities: Framing vs Incentives

Status
Completed
Phases
NA
Study type
Interventional
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT02030080
Enrollment
288
Registered
2014-01-08
Start date
2014-01-31
Completion date
2014-09-30
Last updated
2017-12-29

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Sedentary Lifestyle

Keywords

Pedometers, Walking, Financial incentives, Sedentary lifestyle, Behavioral economics

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. The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed 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

BEHAVIORALFinancial incentives
BEHAVIORALTeams
BEHAVIORALFraming of feedback
BEHAVIORALDaily Feedback

Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.

Sponsors

National Institute on Aging (NIA)
CollaboratorNIH
University of Pennsylvania
Lead SponsorOTHER

Study design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE (Investigator)

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to 100 Years
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* Age greater than 18. * Participant will need an iPhone or Android smartphone to be able to use the Moves App for tracking steps

Exclusion criteria

* Pregnant or lactating * Currently participating in another physical activity study

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Proportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or MoreThroughout 6-month studyThe primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. Below we report the highest mean proportions found.

Secondary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Average Number of Steps Per DayThroughout the 6-month studySecondary outcomes include average number of steps per day during the incentive period (first 3 months) and follow-up period (second 3 months).

Countries

United States

Participant flow

Participants by arm

ArmCount
Feedback 50th Percentile
At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm. Teams Daily Feedback: Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
100
Feedback 75th Percentile
At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm. Teams Framing of feedback Daily Feedback: Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
64
Feedback 50th Percentile + Lottery
At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 50th percentile in their arm. If their team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, they'll be eligible to collect winnings from a weekly lottery. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal. Financial incentives Teams Daily Feedback: Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
80
Feedback 75th Percentile + Lottery
At the end of each week, participants will be told the average daily step count for their team for the previous week. They will also be told the average for the 75th percentile in their arm. If their team's average daily step count is ≥ 7000 steps, they'll be eligible to collect winnings from a weekly lottery. Teams whose average daily step count is less than 7000 will receive messages about how much they would have won had the team met its goal. Financial incentives Teams Framing of feedback Daily Feedback: Participants will be given daily feedback on whether or not they walked 7000 steps or more the day before.
42
Total286

Baseline characteristics

CharacteristicFeedback 75th PercentileFeedback 50th PercentileTotalFeedback 75th Percentile + LotteryFeedback 50th Percentile + Lottery
Age, Continuous43.1 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 10.5
40.9 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12.2
41.3 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12
40.8 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 13.2
40.7 Years
STANDARD_DEVIATION 12.2
Annual household income
$50,000-$100,000
17 Participants31 Participants96 Participants20 Participants28 Participants
Annual household income
Greater than $100,000
30 Participants35 Participants106 Participants12 Participants29 Participants
Annual household income
Less than $50,000
13 Participants19 Participants53 Participants8 Participants13 Participants
Annual household income
Missing Data
4 Participants15 Participants31 Participants2 Participants10 Participants
Body mass index28.7 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.1
29 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 7.4
28.4 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.5
28.5 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 6.2
27.5 kg/m^2
STANDARD_DEVIATION 5.8
Education
College graduate
36 Participants78 Participants204 Participants30 Participants60 Participants
Education
Less than college
6 Participants6 Participants20 Participants4 Participants4 Participants
Education
Some college
22 Participants16 Participants62 Participants8 Participants16 Participants
Marital status
Married
35 Participants55 Participants153 Participants24 Participants39 Participants
Marital status
Other
4 Participants9 Participants28 Participants4 Participants11 Participants
Marital status
Single
25 Participants36 Participants105 Participants14 Participants30 Participants
Number of Participants with iPhone smartphone48 Participants71 Participants209 Participants34 Participants56 Participants
Physical activity in the last 7 days (MET-min)4702.5 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)4698.0 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)4533.3 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)3630.0 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)4186.0 Metabolic equivalent minutes (MET-min)
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
African American non-Hispanic
11 Participants21 Participants58 Participants11 Participants15 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Hispanic
3 Participants1 Participants7 Participants0 Participants3 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
Other non-Hispanic
1 Participants13 Participants29 Participants3 Participants12 Participants
Race/Ethnicity, Customized
White non-Hispanic
49 Participants65 Participants192 Participants28 Participants50 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Female
48 Participants76 Participants229 Participants36 Participants69 Participants
Sex: Female, Male
Male
16 Participants24 Participants57 Participants6 Participants11 Participants

Adverse events

Event typeEG000
affected / at risk
EG001
affected / at risk
EG002
affected / at risk
EG003
affected / at risk
deaths
Total, all-cause mortality
0 / 1000 / 640 / 800 / 42
other
Total, other adverse events
0 / 1000 / 640 / 800 / 42
serious
Total, serious adverse events
0 / 1000 / 640 / 800 / 42

Outcome results

Primary

Proportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or More

The primary outcome measure is the proportion of days a minimum activity of 7000 steps or more is achieved. Outcomes will be assessed each week for 3 months using incentives followed by 3 months of follow-up without incentives. Below we report the highest mean proportions found.

Time frame: Throughout 6-month study

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)
Feedback 50th PercentileProportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or More0.30 Mean proportion
Feedback 75th PercentileProportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or More0.27 Mean proportion
Feedback 50th Percentile + LotteryProportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or More0.45 Mean proportion
Feedback 75th Percentile + LotteryProportion of Days a Participant Walks 7000 Steps or More0.38 Mean proportion
Secondary

Average Number of Steps Per Day

Secondary outcomes include average number of steps per day during the incentive period (first 3 months) and follow-up period (second 3 months).

Time frame: Throughout the 6-month study

ArmMeasureValue (MEAN)
Feedback 50th PercentileAverage Number of Steps Per Day5146 Mean daily step counts
Feedback 75th PercentileAverage Number of Steps Per Day4676 Mean daily step counts
Feedback 50th Percentile + LotteryAverage Number of Steps Per Day6032 Mean daily step counts
Feedback 75th Percentile + LotteryAverage Number of Steps Per Day5432 Mean daily step counts

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Mar 12, 2026