Evaluation of the Nextdoor KIND Challenge

NCT04398472 | Completed

• 1 other identifier: ND01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 4,500
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 1

Brief Summary

There is ample evidence showing that loneliness is a public health problem that influences social, mental and physical health. The current project is about evaluating the effectiveness of the Kindness Is NextDoor (KIND) Challenge, a social networking platform aimed at reducing loneliness and social isolation in specific Nextdoor communities within Australia. As the landscape through which people make social connections changes due to technology it is important to evaluate the effectiveness of platforms that are designed to reduce loneliness within communities. This is the first study of its kind in Australia and will help provide insight into how to target social isolation and loneliness within communities using social networking platforms.

Conditions

Loneliness; Social Isolation

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Change in loneliness as measured by UCLA Loneliness Scale - Version 3 (UCLA-LS; Russell, 1996).

  The UCLA-LS is a 20-item measure employing a 1 (Never) to 4 (Always) Likert-type scale. The measure consists of both positively- and negatively-worded items that assess loneliness (e.g., How often do you feel that you are no longer close to anyone?). The UCLA-LS has been shown to correlate negatively with life satisfaction and perceived social support, thus supporting its convergent validity with related constructs. The range of possible scores is from 0-80 where higher scores indicate higher levels of loneliness.

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 times points: baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

Secondary Outcomes (15)

• Change in quality of life as measured by European Health Interview Survey-Quality Of Life - 8-Item Index (EUROHIS-QOL-8; Power, 2003; Schmidt, Mühlan, & Power, 2005).

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

• Change in depression as measured by Patient Health Questionnaire-8 (PHQ-8; Kroenke & Spitzer, 2002).

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

• Change in social anxiety as measured by Mini-Social Phobia Inventory (Mini-SPIN; Connor, Kobak, Churchill, Katzelnick, & Davidson, 2001).

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

• Change in perceived stress as measured by Perceived Stress Scale-4 (PSS-4; Cohen, Williamson, Spacapan, & Oskamp, 1988).

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

• Change in positive and negative affect as measured by The Positive and Negative Affect Schedule-Short Form (PANAS-SF 10 item; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988)

  Challenge: 3 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, Waitlist: 4 data points - baseline, 4 weeks from baseline, 8 weeks from baseline, 12 weeks from baseline

Study Arms (2)

Challenge

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in the challenge will be asked to complete four activities over the next four weeks to address loneliness and social isolation in their communities. The activities will involve doing an activity with people in their neighbourhood. These activities have been selected based on being positive, engaging and feasible to the average individuals. An example of the type of activities is having a conversation with a neighbour on the phone or via video chat and safely checking in on someone who is elderly or living alone. All activities will adhere to the relevant country or states health department's safety recommendations and laws during COVID-19. Hypothesis 1 (H1). There will be a reduction in the primary outcome, loneliness in participants assigned to the Nextdoor KIND Challenge groups compared to the waitlist control group post the 4-week intervention

Behavioral: KIND Challenge

Waitlist

NO INTERVENTION

Interventions

KIND Challenge BEHAVIORAL

The KIND challenge consists of nominating an activity to complete over a 4 week period. The activities involve doing an activity with others in your neighbourhood. These activities are positive, engaging and feasible to the average individual. Activities adhere to relevant country or state department health and safety guidelines. For example; having a chat with a neighbour online, or bringing in rubbish bins for an elderly neighbour.

Challenge

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 18 Years - 90 Years
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• Community dwellers who use the Nextdoor platform.
• Aged 18 to 90 years old.

You may not qualify if:

• \- Individual's without proficient English reading comprehension skills will be excluded.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Swinburne University of Technology: lead
• Brigham Young University: collaborator
• University of Sydney: collaborator
• University of Manchester: collaborator

Study Sites (1)

Swinburne University of Technology

Hawthorn, Australia

Location

Related Publications (2)

• Lim MH, Hennessey A, Qualter P, Smith BJ, Thurston L, Eres R, Holt-Lunstad J. The KIND Challenge community intervention to reduce loneliness and social isolation, improve mental health, and neighbourhood relationships: an international randomized controlled trial. Soc Psychiatry Psychiatr Epidemiol. 2025 Apr;60(4):931-942. doi: 10.1007/s00127-024-02740-z. Epub 2024 Aug 19.

  PMID: 39158741 DERIVED

• Lim MH, Qualter P, Hennessey A, Smith BJ, Argent T, Holt-Lunstad J. A randomised controlled trial of the Nextdoor Kind Challenge: a study protocol. BMC Public Health. 2021 Aug 5;21(1):1510. doi: 10.1186/s12889-021-11489-y.

  PMID: 34353299 DERIVED

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Social Isolation

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Social Behavior; Behavior

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: TREATMENT
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: March 4, 2020
• First Posted: May 21, 2020
• Study Start: July 7, 2020
• Primary Completion: January 1, 2021
• Study Completion: January 1, 2021
• Last Updated: April 23, 2021

Record last verified: 2021-04

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will not share

Locations

AU (1)