Financial Incentives for Healthy Eating: A Randomized Pilot Study
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Nutrition Therapy
- Sponsor
- University of Pennsylvania
- Enrollment
- 42
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Changes from baseline in proportion of fruit and vegetable purchases
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 13 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
Interventions to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables to date have shown promise, but many have limited public health impact due to the lack of scalability of their designs. The investigators propose to examine the effectiveness and feasibility of an intervention for promoting increased consumption of fruits and vegetables by incentivizing their purchase. Collaborating with UpLift Solutions, the investigators will enroll shoppers in this Randomized Clinical Trial using the research infrastructure called the Way to Health platform. (called the Way to Health platform, and approved as a Prime protocol by the IRB as reference # 811860).
Hypothesis: providing patients with financial incentives can promote healthier behaviors (e.g.: eating healthier).
Detailed Description
This is a pilot study under the IRB-approved umbrella protocol number 811698 named Penn-CMU Roybal Center on Behavioral Economics and Health. Interventions to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables to date have shown promise, but many have limited public health impact due to the lack of scalability of their designs. Many interventions only provided information on what constitutes healthier eating or provided discounts on specific products.Other interventions were limited in generalizability due to utilization of very specific eating establishments or vending machines.By contrast, the investigators propose to examine the effectiveness and feasibility of an intervention for promoting increased consumption of fruits and vegetables by incentivizing their purchase where the overwhelming majority of food is sold: grocery stores. Collaborating with Brown's Super Stores and UpLift Solutions leadership, the investigators will enroll shoppers in this Randomized Clinical Trial using our the web-based research infrastructure called the Way to Health platform. The primary aim of this project is to generate preliminary evidence of the efficacy of two financial incentive structures in promoting the allocation of a greater percentage of ones grocery budget to the purchase of fresh fruits and vegetables (hereafter, produce). Secondary aims are to evaluate these interventions effects on (1) self-reported consumption of produce, and (2) weight. Salutary goals of this pilot study are to document feasibility of using Price Plus cards for incentive studies, and to expand the functionality of the Way Health platform.
Investigators
Scott Halpern
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Pulmonary & Critical Care) and Epidemiology Deputy Director, Center for Health Incentives and Behavioral Economics
University of Pennsylvania
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Current Parkside Brown's Super Stores shoppers who use a Price Plus Card
- •Have regular internet access
- •Spend at least $30 per household member per week on groceries
- •Spend 10% or less of their grocery budget on produce
- •18 years of age or older
- •weekly grocery shoppers
Exclusion Criteria
- •Plan to move in the next 4 months
- •Plan to stop shopping at Brown's Super Stores in the next 4 months
- •Plan to stop using their Price Plus card in the next 4 months
- •Receive any assistance like SNAP or WIC
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Changes from baseline in proportion of fruit and vegetable purchases
Time Frame: weekly for 3 months
Changes from baseline in proportion of grocery money that is spent on fruits and vegetables each week for 12 weeks across each intervention group. Fruits and vegetables, or produce, will be defined by the food product itself, not its location in the store. Produce in this study will include frozen and canned fruits and vegetables as well as fresh fruits and vegetables.
Secondary Outcomes
- Changes from baseline in self-reported consumption of fruits and vegetables(weekly for 3 months)
- Changes in body weight from baseline to end of treatment (12 weeks after intervention start)(Baseline and an average of 12-14 weeks after intervention start)