Physical Activity
Conditions
Keywords
Physical activity, Exercise, Financial Incentives
Brief summary
The investigators propose a 24 week program to provide proof-of-principle evidence that financial incentives stimulate Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) employees to be more physically active.
Detailed description
Participants wear a Fitbit Flex accelerometer for at least six months. During the first two weeks, they are paid simply for wearing the Fitbit. After that, they are regularly paid for either meeting CDC guidelines for moderate physical activity (PA) or increasing their PA by at least 10% from the preceding week. Moderate PA is defined as walking for at least 100 steps per minute for at least 10 minutes at a time. One minute of vigorous PA, over 175 steps/minute, counts as two minutes of moderate PA. In addition to weekly bonuses, there are also bonuses for achieving all goals in 1 month, 3 month, and 6 month intervals. In cases where all three team members received a bonus, their bonuses are doubled. Individuals also fill out weekly questionnaires about their work attendance, as well as longer questionnaires at baseline, three months, and six months.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFinancial Bonuses
Each participant is eligible to receive $10 per week for increasing their minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity by 10% from the previous week, or for meeting CDC guidelines of 150 minutes/week. Participants who meet their target minutes of PA every week for one month, three months, or six months receive $15, $25, or $50 bonuses respectively. If all members of a team meet their individual PA goals, each participant's reward is doubled. In total, participants can earn up to $860 if they meet all their goals.
Sponsors
Brigham and Women's Hospital
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
* Brigham and Women's Hospital employee * Reported less than 30 minutes of exercise per week * Use a computer daily at work or home * Willing to wear a pedometer, undergo health screening, and complete occasional questionnaires
Exclusion criteria
* Occupation: Physician, nurse or other clinician * Self-reported pregnancy at baseline
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Physical Activity | 6 Months | Minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (greater than 100 steps/minute) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Individuals Meeting CDC Guidelines | 6 Months | Percentage of cohort that achieved 150 minutes of moderate PA per week |
| Fitbit Adherence | 6 Months | Percentage of cohort that wore their Fitbit for four or more days per week for at least 20 out of 24 weeks |
Outcome results
None listed