eMOTION: Examining Affective Mechanisms in Physical Activity Engagement
Using Real-Time Data Capture to Examine Affective Mechanisms as Mediators of Physical Activity Adherence in Interventions
2 other identifiers
interventional
280
1 country
1
Brief Summary
This early-phase trial will test intervention strategies to influence affective mechanisms underlying physical activity and determine whether changes in those mechanisms result in change in physical activity behavior among inactive adults who are overweight or obese.
Trial Health
Trial Health Score
Automated assessment based on enrollment pace, timeline, and geographic reach
participants targeted
Target at P75+ for not_applicable
Started Aug 2024
Typical duration for not_applicable
1 active site
Health score is calculated from publicly available data and should be used for screening purposes only.
Trial Relationships
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Study Timeline
Key milestones and dates
Study Start
First participant enrolled
August 14, 2024
CompletedFirst Submitted
Initial submission to the registry
August 16, 2024
CompletedFirst Posted
Study publicly available on registry
August 26, 2024
CompletedPrimary Completion
Last participant's last visit for primary outcome
January 1, 2027
ExpectedStudy Completion
Last participant's last visit for all outcomes
June 30, 2027
June 27, 2025
June 1, 2025
2.4 years
August 16, 2024
June 23, 2025
Conditions
Keywords
Outcome Measures
Primary Outcomes (2)
Physical Activity: Step Count
Daily steps will be calculated from minute-level accelerometer data. Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatches with internal accelerometers are worn for the duration of the study period, except while bathing or charging. Only days with sufficient wear time (defined as ≥ 10-hours of valid data, where no more than 20-minutes per hour has a consecutive step count of zero) are used for analysis.
Daily total for weeks 1-19
Physical Activity: Minutes
Daily minutes of light, moderate, and vigorous physical activity will be calculated from minute-level accelerometer data. Fitbit Versa 3 smartwatches with internal accelerometers are worn for the duration of the study period, except while bathing or charging. Only days with sufficient wear time (defined as ≥ 10-hours of valid data, where no more than 20-minutes per hour has a consecutive step count of zero) are used for analysis.
Daily total for weeks 1-19
Secondary Outcomes (3)
Affective Response
Max 2 per 60-min physical activity period during weeks 2-9 and weeks 12-19
Affectively-Charged Motivations
Up to once daily for weeks 2-9 and weeks 12-19
Anticipated Affect
Up to once daily for weeks 2-9 and weeks 12-19
Study Arms (8)
Affect (no enhancements) > Intensity
EXPERIMENTALParticipants receive affect-based goals for the first 8-weeks, then cross-over to receive intensity-based goals for the second 8-weeks. No enhancements are added to the standard mHealth intervention.
Intensity > Affect (no enhancements)
EXPERIMENTALParticipants receive intensity-based goals for the first 8-weeks, then cross-over to receive affect-based goals for the second 8-weeks. No enhancements are added to the standard mHealth intervention.
Affect (+ SAVOR + TYPE/CONTEXT) > Intensity
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive affect-based goals for the first 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in both SAVOR and TYPE/CONTEXT enhancements to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition. Participants then cross-over to receive intensity-based goals for the second 8-weeks.
Intensity > Affect (+ SAVOR + TYPE/CONTEXT)
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive intensity-based goals for the first 8-weeks, then cross-over to receive affect-based goals for the second 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in both SAVOR and TYPE/CONTEXT enhancements to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition.
Affect (+SAVOR) > Intensity
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive affect-based goals for the first 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in the SAVOR enhancement to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition. Participants then cross-over to receive intensity-based goals for the second 8-weeks.
Intensity > Affect (+SAVOR)
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive intensity-based goals for the first 8-weeks, then cross-over to receive affect-based goals for the second 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in the SAVOR enhancement to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition.
Affect (+TYPE/CONTEXT) > Intensity
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive affect-based goals for the first 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in the TYPE/CONTEXT enhancement to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition. Participants then cross-over to receive intensity-based goals for the second 8-weeks.
Intensity > Affect (+TYPE/CONTEXT)
ACTIVE COMPARATORParticipants receive intensity-based goals for the first 8-weeks, then cross-over to receive affect-based goals for the second 8-weeks. In addition to the standard mHealth intervention, participants engage in the TYPE/CONTEXT enhancement to augment the treatment effects of the affect-based goals condition.
Interventions
On days participants plan to exercise, they engage in two daily goal sessions (morning and evening). Morning sessions provide an activity goal for the day and ask the participant to create a plan, anticipate barriers, and brainstorm solutions for achieving this goal. The affect-based goal condition asks participants to engage in either (1) a type (50% of daily goals) or (2) a context (50% of daily goals) of physical activity that allows them to experience positive affect. Goals focused on context are randomly generated to suggest that the participant performs activity (1) in a place; (2) in a social situation; or (3) while listening to something that makes them feel good. The intensity-based goal condition asks participants to maintain a certain target heart rate range during physical activity. Starting heart rate reflects the approximate age-adjusted heart rate max, with goals progressively increasing from 55% to 70% heart rate max.
TYPE/CONTEXT augments intervention effects by providing tailored recommendations for activity types and contexts that satisfy personally-important psychological needs as rated by each participant at baseline. Ratings from a crowdsourced panel of adults on Amazon Mechanical Turk will be used to determine the potential for specific activity types and contexts to satisfy psychological needs; our tailoring algorithm will then recommend the corresponding activity type or context while accounting for reported constraints (e.g., ability, access). These details will be incorporated into a tailored recommendation provided to participants each Sunday as they make activity plans for the upcoming week. Specifically, the program will randomly select either type or context (i.e., location, audio, social) recommendations and will rotate every two weeks. For TYPE, participants' top 3 activity types are recommended; for CONTEXT, participants' top 3 activity contexts are recommended.
SAVOR implements a brief savoring exercise on the smartphone that takes place either after the planned physical activity session or during the evening goal session (after the self-monitoring module). Participants will respond to questions that are intended to enhance and prolong positive experiences during physical activity. To trigger attentional deployment, a common savoring strategy that involves intensifying experiences by focusing on them, participants will answer three open-ended prompts. These prompts are drawn from a prompt pool with slightly varied wording to promote a sense of novelty. Savoring prompts will rotate daily and have a day lag built in every week (i.e., Week 1 Monday Savoring Prompts are Week 2 Tuesday Savoring Prompts).
Eligibility Criteria
You may qualify if:
- Aged ≥ 18 years
- Reside in the United States
- Self-reported BMI ≥ 25
- Current structured physical activity engagement \< 60 minutes per week
- Own a personal smartphone device
- Reside in an area with Internet or Wi-Fi connectivity during the study period
- Able to speak and read in English
- Interested and willing to start a physical activity program
- Willing to wear a Fitbit Versa smartwatch provided by the study team everyday continuously (including at work and during physical activity), in place of any Fitbits or smartwatches previously worn, for the duration of the study period
- Able to read the small font on a smartwatch screen without glasses, or willing to carry reading glasses during physical activity for the purpose of reading the smartwatch screen
You may not qualify if:
- Inability to provide informed consent due to cognitive disability
- Inability to engage in one or more key treatment components, including those with medical conditions that preclude physical activity engagement or who cannot wear an accelerometer on the wrist or answer brief surveys on the smartwatch for any reason
- Current pregnancy
- Referred to the study by another participant or from Reddit.
Contact the study team to confirm eligibility.
Sponsors & Collaborators
- University of Southern Californialead
- National Cancer Institute (NCI)collaborator
Study Sites (1)
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California, 90032, United States
Related Publications (1)
Dunton GF, Hatzinger L, Crosley-Lyons R, Hewus M, Wang WL, Van Dyck D, Huh J. Randomized trial of a digital therapeutics intervention to enhance affective response during physical activity: Protocol for the eMOTION study. Contemp Clin Trials. 2025 Jul;154:107945. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2025.107945. Epub 2025 May 12.
PMID: 40368026DERIVED
MeSH Terms
Conditions
Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)
Study Officials
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
Genevieve F Dunton, PhD MPH
University of Southern California
Central Study Contacts
Study Design
- Study Type
- interventional
- Phase
- not applicable
- Allocation
- RANDOMIZED
- Masking
- TRIPLE
- Who Masked
- PARTICIPANT, INVESTIGATOR, OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
- Purpose
- PREVENTION
- Intervention Model
- FACTORIAL
- Sponsor Type
- OTHER
- Responsible Party
- PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
- PI Title
- Chief, Division of Health Behavior Research and Director, USC Real-Time Eating Activity and Children's Health (REACH) Lab
Study Record Dates
First Submitted
August 16, 2024
First Posted
August 26, 2024
Study Start
August 14, 2024
Primary Completion (Estimated)
January 1, 2027
Study Completion (Estimated)
June 30, 2027
Last Updated
June 27, 2025
Record last verified: 2025-06
Data Sharing
- IPD Sharing
- Will not share