Using Bluetooth Beacon Technology to Reduce Distracted Pedestrian Behavior

NCT03604497 | Completed Results

• 1 other identifier: R21HD095270
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 437
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

Over 4,800 American pedestrians die annually, a figure that is current increasing. One hypothesized reason for the increasing trend in pedestrian injuries and deaths is the role of mobile technology in distracting both pedestrians and drivers. The investigators propose to develop and then evaluate Bluetooth beacon technology as a means to alert and warn pedestrians when they are approaching dangerous intersections, reminding them to attend to the traffic environment and cross the street safely rather than engaging with mobile technology. One aspect of the research will involve a crossover research trial to evaluate efficacy of the program. Bluetooth beacons are very small (about the size of a dime) and inexpensive (\~$20 range) devices that broadcast information unidirectionally (beacon to smartphone) within a closed proximal network. The investigators propose placing beacons at intersection corners (e.g., on signposts) frequently trafficked by urban college students. The beacons will transmit to an app installed on users' smartphones, signaling users to attend to their environment and cross the street safely. The app will be developed to be flexible based on user preferences; for research purposes, the app also will download data concerning the users' behavior while crossing the street. The crossover trial will evaluate the app with a sample of about 411 young adults whose behavior is monitored for: (a) 3 weeks without the app being activated, (b) 3 weeks with the app activated, and then (c) 6 weeks without the app activated to assess retention of behavior. Throughout the 12 week period, the investigators will monitor user behavior at multiple intersections around campus, along with gathering self-report questionnaire perceptions and behavior at baseline and 12-week post-intervention assessments.

Conditions

Health Behavior

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Percentage of Street Crossings Distracted

  percentage of street-crossings participants is distracted while crossing streets in intersections involved in the study, as measured electronically by smartphone behavior near those intersections. Electronic measurement was based on x-y-z coordinates of the smartphone during the crossing, as assessed and stored in the participants' phone storage.

  12 weeks

Study Arms (3)

beacon alerts

EXPERIMENTAL

active intervention - participants are receiving alerts to warn them about distracted pedestrian behavior near intersections

Behavioral: beacon alerts

no alerts baseline

NO INTERVENTION

baseline - participants do not receive any alerts on their mobile smartphone when near intersections

no alerts retention

OTHER

retention phase - alerts have stopped after active intervention and behavior is monitored to test retention of learned behavior

Behavioral: no alerts retention

Interventions

beacon alerts BEHAVIORAL

alerts via unidirectional communication from beacons to smartphones when smartphones are approaching pedestrian crossing at activated intersection

beacon alerts

no alerts retention BEHAVIORAL

no alerts will appear, but we will measure retention of behavior learned during the active intervention stage

no alerts retention

Eligibility Criteria

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

You may qualify if:

• individuals who cross streets on the UAB campus at least twice daily
• ownership of an Android phone
• willingness to install the app on phone
• ability to communicate in English

You may not qualify if:

• none

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Alabama at Birmingham: lead
• National Institutes of Health (NIH): collaborator
• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD): collaborator

Study Sites (1)

UAB Youth Safety Lab, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Birmingham, Alabama, 35294, United States

Location

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Health Behavior

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Behavior

Results Point of Contact

• Title: Dr David Schwebel
• Organization: University of Alabama at Birmingham

schwebel@uab.edu

2059348745

Study Officials

• David C Schwebel, PhD

  University of Alabama at Birmingham

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Publication Agreements

• PI is Sponsor Employee: No
• Restrictive Agreement: No

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: NON RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: PREVENTION
• Intervention Model: CROSSOVER
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Primary Investigator

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: July 11, 2018
• First Posted: July 27, 2018
• Study Start: August 15, 2019
• Primary Completion: December 21, 2019
• Study Completion: December 21, 2019
• Last Updated: November 24, 2020
• Results First Posted: November 24, 2020

Record last verified: 2020-11

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Shared Documents: STUDY PROTOCOL, ICF
• Time Frame: after publication of final results and for 3 years
• Access Criteria: contact study PI

Locations

US (1)