Structuring Financial Incentives to Increase Physical Activity

NCT03305172 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: SG-STEP
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 620
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of different structures of long term financial incentives on increasing physical activity performed by subjects, as measured by the number of steps walked per day. Investigators are interested in studying whether physical activity increases during an intervention period (with incentives) and a post-intervention period (with no incentives).

Conditions

Physical Activity; Weight Loss

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (2)

• Step count goal -- Intervention

  Proportion of participant-days on which the goal (baseline +2,500 steps) was achieved during the intervention period.

  36-week intervention period following the baseline period.

• Change in mean daily steps -- Intervention

  Change in mean daily steps during the intervention period.

  36-week intervention period following the baseline period.

Secondary Outcomes (8)

• Step count goal -- Post-intervention

  12-week post-intervention period.

• Change in mean daily steps -- Post-intervention

  12-week post-intervention period.

• Sleep Pattern -- Intervention

  36-week intervention period following the baseline period.

• Sleep Pattern -- Post-intervention

  12-week post-intervention period.

• Weight (in kilograms) Loss -- Intervention

  36-week intervention period following the baseline period.

Study Arms (5)

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Subjects in the Control treatment are not given any financial incentive to achieve the goal.

Gain Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Financial Incentive: Each subject in the Gain treatment will earn a certain amount of money for each day the goal is achieved. The money earned will be added to a virtual account that the subject has, and will be paid to the subject at the end of the intervention period.

Behavioral: Financial Incentive

Loss Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Financial Incentive: Each subject in the Loss treatment will be given a certain amount of money in his/her virtual account at the beginning of every week. For each day that the subject does not achieve the goal, a small portion of that money will be deducted from the virtual account. The balance that is left in the virtual account will be paid to the subject at the end of the intervention period.

Behavioral: Financial Incentive

Gain Streak Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Financial Incentive: Each subject in the Gain Streak treatment get an increasing amount of money added to his/her virtual account for every continuous day that they achieve the goal. The maximum cumulative amount per week is same as in the other treatment conditions. The payment is reset at the beginning of each week, or if the subject misses the goal on any day. The money in the virtual account will be paid to the subject at the end of the intervention period.

Behavioral: Financial Incentive

Loss Streak Treatment

EXPERIMENTAL

Financial Incentive: Each subject in the Loss Streak treatment will be given a certain amount of money in his/her virtual account at the beginning of every week. An increasing amount of money will be deducted for each consecutive day the subject does not achieve the goal. The payment is reset at the beginning of each week, or when the subject achieves the goal (i.e., deductions are reset when the streak is broken). The balance that is left in the virtual account will be paid to the subject at the end of the intervention period.

Behavioral: Financial Incentive

Interventions

Financial Incentive BEHAVIORAL

Giving different structures of long term (36 weeks) financial incentives to increase physical activity

Gain Streak Treatment; Gain Treatment; Loss Streak Treatment; Loss Treatment

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 25 Years - 60 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64)

You may qualify if:

• Singapore citizens and permanent residents
• Adults with BMI greater than 22
• Ownership of a smartphone or tablet
• Only one member per household can participate in the study

You may not qualify if:

• Women who are pregnant or breast feeding, or who intend to become pregnant over next year
• Subjects who are already participating in another physical activity program or study
• Subjects who are unable to participate for a total of 1 year
• Subjects who are unwilling to wear the fitness device
• Subjects who already walk more than 10,000 steps a day (self-reported per-day-average over seven days)
• Subjects who have any of the following health conditions:
• high blood pressure
• high cholesterol
• heart attack
• heart failure
• stroke
• chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
• kidney disease
• diabetes (type 2)

Sponsors & Collaborators

• National University of Singapore: lead
• University of Pennsylvania: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

National University of Singapore

Singapore, 119077, Singapore

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Motor Activity; Weight Loss

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior; Body Weight Changes; Body Weight; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Study Officials

• Teck H Ho, PhD

  National University of Singapore

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Study Design

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

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: September 26, 2017
• First Posted: October 9, 2017
• Study Start: October 9, 2017
• Primary Completion: January 17, 2019
• Study Completion: January 30, 2019
• Last Updated: October 4, 2019

Record last verified: 2019-10

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF, ANALYTIC CODE
• Time Frame: After completion of all analysis. It will be made available in the supporting documentation.
• Access Criteria: It will be made available in the supporting documentation.

Locations

SG (1)