A Randomized Trial of Economic Incentives to Promote Walking Among Full Time Employees

Not Applicable

Completed

• Conditions: Physical Activity

• Registration Number: NCT01855776
• Lead Sponsor: Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School

Brief Summary

This study aims to assess the uptake, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of a scalable walking programme for full-time employees both with and without incentives.

Detailed Description

The first part of this study comprises an in-home face-to-face survey with 950 full-time employees in Singapore. The survey aims to identify what an optimal programme might look like and to quantify the potential uptake of the programme, if offered. Stated preference conjoint analysis, which assesses individual preferences for attributes of specific programmes, will be used.

The second part of this study is a Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT) of a 12-month walking programme. Up to 800 full-time employees will be recruited and allocated to one of four research arms: Control Group, Programme Only Group, Cash Incentive Group and Charitable Incentive Group. Participants in the intervention arms will be asked to track their physical activities using Fitbit Zip, a wireless pedometer, which automatically uploads the data to a custom website. Those in the incentive arms will earn money or raise money for charities if they meet weekly exercise targets. Those in the control and Programme Only groups with receive a weekly payment for participation. Incentives and participation payment will be provided from months 1 - 6, after which they will be withdrawn.

The key outcome variable of the RCT is defined as bouts (in minutes) of moderate to vigorous physical activity ("MVPA bouts") as measured via accelerometry. Data will be collected at baseline and month 6 and 12 assessments.

Findings from the RCT will also be used to determine the cost to employers of implementing each programme and the incremental cost-effectiveness of the incentive programmes compared to the basic programme without incentives. The primary hypotheses are that the basic programme will have lower costs per person than the cash or charity programmes, but that the incentive programmes will be more cost-effective relative to the less expensive and less effective basic programme.

Study Timeline

• Study First Submitted: 2012-08-08
• Study Start: 2013-05
• Study First Submitted QC: 2013-05-13
• Study First Posted: 2013-05-16
• Primary Completion: 2015-08
• Study Completion: 2015-08
• Status Verified: 2016-01
• Last Update Submitted: 2016-01-03
• Last Update Posted: 2016-01-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 800

Inclusion Criteria

• Full-time employees living in Singapore
• Aged between 21-65

Exclusion Criteria

• report difficulty doing 10 minutes of aerobic activities without stopping
• report difficulty walking up 10 stairs without stopping
• report difficulty performing basic activities of daily living
• have any medical conditions that limit their ability to walk as a means of physical activity
• self-identify medical conditions that limit ability to walk AND do not have medical consent
• answer 'YES' to any PAR-Q questions

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: FACTORIAL

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Changes in MVPA (Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity) bouts of participants from baseline to months 6 and 12	Baseline, 6 and 12 months	MVPA bouts are defined as the total number of minutes during each 1-week assessment period in which moderate or vigorous activity of at least 8 of 10 consecutive minutes are reached. This will be assessed via the Actigraph GT3XE-Plus Triaxial Activity Monitor.; We will measure "MVPA bouts" at baseline, 6, and 12 months. We hypothesize that participants in the Programme Only, and Incentive groups record more "MVPA bouts" at 6 months compared to baseline. Furthermore, participants in the Incentive groups will record more "MVPA bouts" at 6 months compared to the Control and Programme only groups.; We also measure "MVPA bouts" for all participants at 12 months. We do so to test if the "MVPA bouts" measured at month 6, can be sustained at month 12 when incentives are no longer being provided.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Change in VO2Max of participants from baseline to months 6, and 12.	Baseline, 6 and 12 months	VO2Max is one of the major parameters to evaluate health and fitness of the cardiovascular system and is widely used for health promotion purposes. VO2Max will also be assessed via the Non Exercise Fitness Test (NEFT); NEFT predicts VO2max based on age, gender, BMI, resting heart rate and self-reported physical activities.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Duke-NUS Graduate Medical School; 🇸🇬 Singapore, Singapore