Department of Family Medicine, Seoul National University Hospital & College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea; Center for Health Promotion & Optimal Aging, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea; Laboratory of Health Promotion and Health Behavior, Biomedical Research Institute, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul, South Korea.
Seoul National University Health Service Center, Seoul National University, Seoul, South Korea; Department of Medicine, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, South Korea.
Contemp Clin Trials. 2016 Mar;47:115-22. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2015.12.019. Epub 2015 Dec 30.
An activity tracker combined with a smartphone application (smartcare) may help people track and receive feedback on their own activities. However, activity trackers themselves generally fail to drive long-term sustained engagement for a majority of users. One potential strategy for increasing the effectiveness of smartcare is through the use of incentives. The purpose of this pilot randomized trial is to test the feasibility of our intervention and to assess the extent to which smartcare with or without financial incentives can increase physical activity levels and reduce weight over a 12-week period.
METHODS/DESIGN: This study employs a three-arm, open-label randomized controlled trial design: control (standard basic education), smartcare, and smartcare plus financial incentives. Male university students with body mass index ≥ 27 are enrolled. Our primary and secondary endpoints are the amount of weight loss and the level of physical activity respectively. The weight loss goal is 3% of baseline at week 4, 5% at week 8, and 7% at week 12. The daily physical activity goal was individualized according to the participants' weight. Process incentives are accumulated when participants met daily physical activity goals, and outcome incentives are provided when they met weight reduction goals.
Given the global increase in physical inactivity and obesity, there is a growing need for effective, scalable, and affordable health promotion strategies. Our proof-of-concept study will provide the evidence for the combination of rising health promotion technology of activity trackers and smartphone applications with the modern concept of behavioral economics using financial incentives.
活动追踪器与智能手机应用程序（智能关怀）相结合，可以帮助人们跟踪并获得自己活动的反馈。然而，活动追踪器本身通常无法让大多数用户长期保持参与度。提高智能关怀有效性的一种潜在策略是使用激励措施。本试验性随机对照试验的目的是测试我们干预措施的可行性，并评估在 12 周内，有无财务激励的智能关怀可以在多大程度上提高身体活动水平和减轻体重。
方法/设计：本研究采用三臂、开放标签随机对照试验设计：对照组（标准基础教育）、智能关怀组和智能关怀加财务激励组。纳入的研究对象为男性大学生，体重指数≥27。我们的主要和次要终点分别是体重减轻量和身体活动水平。体重减轻目标为第 4 周时基线的 3%，第 8 周时为 5%，第 12 周时为 7%。根据参与者的体重确定每日身体活动目标。当参与者达到每日身体活动目标时，会积累过程激励，当他们达到体重减轻目标时，会获得结果激励。
鉴于全球范围内身体活动减少和肥胖的增加，人们越来越需要有效的、可扩展的和负担得起的健康促进策略。我们的概念验证研究将为活动追踪器和智能手机应用程序等日益兴起的健康促进技术与使用财务激励措施的行为经济学现代概念相结合提供证据。
