Financial Health Incentives to Promote Physical Activity Among Hospital Employees: A Randomized Control Trial

NCT02638675 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: C4L-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 99
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The objective of this randomized control trial is to examine whether incentives-for-steps (i.e. $1 per day step count goals are reached) increase daily step counts among physically inactive hospital employees.

Conditions

Physically Inactive Hospital Employees

Keywords

financial health incentives; physical activity; behavioral economics; randomized control trial; workplace health

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Steps

  Steps per day will be objectively assessed using the Bluetooth enabled, medical grade, StepsCount Piezo accelerometer

  Daily for 24 weeks

Secondary Outcomes (4)

• 10 Minute Bouts of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity

  Daily for 24 weeks

• Motivation to Exercise - Behavioural Regulation to Exercise Questionnaire; BREQ-3

  Baseline (T0; week 0), intervention end point (T2; week 12), and follow up assessments (T3; week 24).

• Walking Self-Efficacy - Self-Efficacy for Exercise Scale; SEE Scale

  Baseline (T0; week 0), intervention end point (T2; week 12), and follow up assessments (T3; week 24).

• 10 Minute Bouts of Moderate to Vigorous Physical Activity

  Intervention end point (T2; week 12), and follow up assessments (T3; week 24).

Study Arms (2)

Wellness program, accelerometer, incentives

EXPERIMENTAL

During the intervention period (weeks 1 to 12), intervention participants will be eligible to earn daily reward points contingent on step count goal achievement. Intervention participants will earn 100 reward points (i.e. $1) for each day that specific step count goals are reached. During weeks 13 to 24, participants will no longer receive daily reward points for completing specific step count goals.

Behavioral: Wellness program; Device: Accelerometer; Behavioral: Incentive

Wellness program and accelerometer

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

During the 24 week trial, control participants will receive no additional incentives when step count goals are reached.

Behavioral: Wellness program; Device: Accelerometer

Interventions

Wellness program BEHAVIORAL

All participants have access to Change4Life, a web-based health education and behaviour change program. Individuals are rewarded with very modest incentives (uncertain chance; less than 1 in 100 chance of earning) when they complete learning modules or health tasks.

Wellness program and accelerometer; Wellness program, accelerometer, incentives

Accelerometer DEVICE

All participants will be asked to wear the StepsCount Piezo accelerometer, which tracks steps and bout minutes of MVPA per day, synchronize the device to the Change4Life program, and reach daily step count goals for 24 weeks.

Wellness program and accelerometer; Wellness program, accelerometer, incentives

Incentive BEHAVIORAL

During the first 12 weeks, participants will be eligible to earn $1 in vouchers (e.g., grocery, cinema) when daily goals are reached. The total amount available over the 3-month intervention period will be $90 (9,000 points). During weeks 13 to 24, participants will not receive daily reward points for completing step count goals.

Wellness program, accelerometer, incentives

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Over the age of 18 years
• English speaking

You may not qualify if:

• Existing medical condition, which could be exacerbated by physical activity as measured by the Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire.
• Note. Participants cannot enrol in the study without Internet access

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Toronto: lead
• Green Shield Canada Inc.: collaborator
• Cookson James Loyalty Inc.: collaborator
• Hamilton Health Sciences Corporation: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto

Toronto, Ontario, M5S 2W6, Canada

Location

Related Publications (6)

• Resnick B, Jenkins LS. Testing the reliability and validity of the Self-Efficacy for Exercise scale. Nurs Res. 2000 May-Jun;49(3):154-9. doi: 10.1097/00006199-200005000-00007.

  PMID: 10882320 BACKGROUND

• Markland D, Tobin V. A modification of the Behavioral Regulation in Exercise Questionnaire to include an assessment of amotivation. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology 26: 191-196, 2004.

  BACKGROUND

• Wilson PM, Rodgers WM, Loitz CC, Scime G. "It's who I am…really!" The importance of integrated regulation in exercise contexts. Journal of Biobehavioral Research 11: 79-104, 2006.

  BACKGROUND

• Booth M. Assessment of physical activity: an international perspective. Res Q Exerc Sport. 2000 Jun;71(2 Suppl):S114-20. No abstract available.

  PMID: 10925833 BACKGROUND

• Craig CL, Marshall AL, Sjostrom M, Bauman AE, Booth ML, Ainsworth BE, Pratt M, Ekelund U, Yngve A, Sallis JF, Oja P. International physical activity questionnaire: 12-country reliability and validity. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 2003 Aug;35(8):1381-95. doi: 10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB.

  PMID: 12900694 BACKGROUND

• Mitchell M, White L, Oh P, Kwan M, Gove P, Leahey T, Faulkner G. Examining Incentives to Promote Physical Activity Maintenance Among Hospital Employees Not Achieving 10,000 Daily Steps: A Web-Based Randomized Controlled Trial Protocol. JMIR Res Protoc. 2016 Dec 12;5(4):e231. doi: 10.2196/resprot.6285.

  PMID: 27956377 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity

Interventions

Health Promotion

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Intervention Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Health Education; Preventive Health Services; Health Services; Health Care Facilities Workforce and Services

Study Officials

• Guy Faulkner, PhD

  University of Toronto

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: INVESTIGATOR
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 16, 2015
• First Posted: December 23, 2015
• Study Start: February 6, 2017
• Primary Completion: November 30, 2017
• Study Completion: November 30, 2017
• Last Updated: May 11, 2018

Record last verified: 2018-05

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

CA (1)